Former Twitter security chief Peiter Zatko has told US lawmakers that the firm is “misleading the public” about how secure the platform really is.
He claimed Twitter was “a decade behind on security standards, users’ data was not adequately protected, and too many employees had access to it.”
Mr Zatko gave evidence after an 84-page whistleblowing complaint he filed about security practices within the social network.
He was fired from the company in January.
He also said that “one-off fines” imposed by regulators for violating privacy rules “didn’t bother Twitter at all.”
He described an organization that prioritizes revenue generation above all else.
At the beginning of the hearing, Mr Zatko wept over his role as a whistleblower and said it was not a decision he took lightly.
During his questioning, he said staff members had raised concerns with him that Twitter was carrying advertisements from “organizations that may or may not be connected to the Chinese government,” a potential national security risk.
When he raised concerns with Twitter executives, he was told losing that revenue stream was “problematic,” he said.
He has previously backed Elon Musk’s claim that the platform has more spam and fake accounts than it claims.
The hearing is unrelated to Mr Musk’s attempt to back out of his deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion — that case is set to begin in October
Mr Zatko was personally hired by Twitter’s co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey following a high-profile attack on the platform’s celebrity accounts.
He has previously worked for the US government and Google and is well respected in the information security community.
His attorney, John Tye, described him as “a pretty remarkable guy”.
Senator Chuck Grassley of the US Judiciary Committee said in his opening statement that Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal declined to attend the hearing.
Twitter has said that Mr Zatko lost his job due to ineffective leadership and poor performance and that his allegations are both inaccurate and contradictory.
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