First step

Billionaire Elon Musk has summoned Twitter’s former head of security and whistleblower Peiter Zatko ahead of his trial against the social media giant, as he fights to get out of his $44bn acquisition deal.

Zatko, who was fired by Twitter at the start of 2022, last week filed an 84-page complaint accusing the company of covering up security flaws and fake accounts.

The whistleblower alleges that Twitter violated an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission regarding cyber security precautions, and suggested deception at the company around fake or spam accounts – something that could help bolster Elon Musk’s court case.