Rich Stroffolino


X and the FTC Consent Decree

So in 10 minutes, I read two amazing things. From this Guardian piece on X potentially violating its consent decree with the FTC:

The DoJ filing also counters X Corp’s argument that Musk should not have to testify about its [data privacy] compliance with the order. The DoJ argues that Musk has “unique, firsthand” knowledge about the company’s data practices.

Compared to this excerpt from the upcoming Is Walter Isaacson bio (from Tech Dirt):

The servers had user data on them, and James did not initially realize that, for privacy reasons, they were supposed to be wiped clean before being moved. “By the time we learned this, the servers had already been unplugged and rolled out, so there was no way we would roll them back, plug them in, and then wipe them,” he says. Plus, the wiping software wasn’t working. “F—, what do we do?” he asked. Elon recommended that they lock the trucks and track them.

So James sent someone to Home Depot to buy big padlocks, and they sent the combination codes on a spreadsheet to Portland so the trucks could be opened there. “I can’t believe it worked,” James says. “They all made it to Portland safely.”

Physically ripping out servers yourself without doing any due diligence that they might contain personal data and then suggesting that sticking AirTags and consumer locks on them as adequate…. seems like there may be some cause to testify.