Pomerantz Appointed Co-Lead Counsel in Twitter Securities Litigation

On January 19, 2023, U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi, of the Central District of California, appointed Pomerantz LLP as Co-Lead Counsel on behalf of its client, William Baker, who serves as the Lead Plaintiff, and the class, in Baker v. Twitter, Inc., 22-cv-6525 (C.D. Cal.). This securities action alleges that Twitter, Inc. (“Twitter” or the “Company”) misled the market regarding security concerns about its the platform and the effectiveness of its cybersecurity defenses.

Twitter operates a global social media platform. In March 2011, Twitter agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission regarding a complaint that the Company mishandled users’ private information and allowed too many employees to have access to the platform’s central controls. As part of the settlement, Twitter was “barred for 20 years from misleading consumers about the extent to which it protects the security, privacy, and confidentiality of nonpublic consumer information, including the measures it takes to prevent unauthorized access to nonpublic information and honor the privacy choices made by consumers.”

Specifically, the allegations against Twitter include that: (i) the Company was aware of issues with security on its platform; (ii) Twitter made an active effort to keep the public and regulators unaware of the security problems; and (iii) Twitter actively refused to address security concerns, which increased the risk of loss of public goodwill.

The truth emerged on August 23, 2022, when CNN and the Washington Post published an article in which a whistleblower, later identified as the Company’s former head of security, Peiter Zatko (“Zatko”), stated that “Twitter has major security problems that pose a threat to its own users’ personal information, to [Twitter] shareholders, to national security, and to democracy…” Zatko further alleged that “Twitter’s leadership has misled its own board and government regulators about its security vulnerabilities, including some that could allegedly open the door to foreign spying or manipulation, hacking and disinformation campaigns.”

On this news, Twitter’s share price fell approximately 7%.