Texas Attorney General Launches Investigation Against Twitter for False Reporting of Its Bot Users

Vignesh Karunanidhi
Source: Techcrunch

The Texas Attorney General launched an investigation against Twitter for alleged false reporting of its bot users. According to the general, the social media giant violates the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Ken Paxton, the Attorney General of Texas, released the news in one of its latest releases. Bots are automated non-human accounts that can make tweets, follow and do all activities as a normal user. The increased number of spam accounts reduces the quality of users on the platform. The spam bots also spread spam activities, causing harm to general users and specifically Texas businesses and consumers.

Is Twitter in trouble for its 5% bot claim?

Ever since Elon Musk’s decision to acquire Twitter is on the air, the social media giant has been requested to provide the exact data of the number of scam bot users on the platform. While it claimed that only 5% of its users are scam bots, the social media giant faced several backlashes claiming that the numbers were false. The bot users are said to comprise over 20% of the total users, and Ken Paxton said that it’s affecting the consumers and businesses dealing with the bluebird.

To resolve this issue, a Civil Investigative Demand was issued to investigate whether the platform’s reporting is false or misleading. The CID demands that Twitter turn over records relating to how it collects and manages user data as well as how these figures connect to its advertising operations. The deadline for the social media giant to answer Attorney General Paxton’s demand is June 27.

“Texans rely on Twitter’s public statements that nearly all its users are real people. It matters not only for regular Twitter users, but also Texas businesses and advertisers who use Twitter for their livelihoods.”

Attorney General Paxton

Twitter’s delay in providing spam bot information is also putting Elon Musk’s deal in a make-or-break situation.