Twitter whistleblower Peiter Zatko told senators on the Judiciary Committee that the FBI warned the social media platform about a Chinese spy operating within the company, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley said Tuesday.
The former Twitter head of security is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, after making bombshell allegations against the company in August. Zatko claimed that Twitter has major security issues that leave it vulnerable to foreign spies.
“In your disclosure, you mentioned that the FBI notified Twitter that one of their employees was suspected of being a Chinese foreign asset,” Grassley said. “Were you and others at Twitter at all surprised by that?” (RELATED: ‘It Ends With China Having All Your Data’: Joe Rogan Astounded Reading TikTok’s Terms Of Service)
“This was made aware to me maybe a week before I was dismissed,” Zatko said. “I had been told because the physical security team had been contacted and there was at least one agent on the payroll inside Twitter.”
Sen Grassley says the FBI notified Twitter that “at least one” suspected Chinese foreign agent was working for the company
— Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) September 13, 2022
Zatko worked at Twitter since November 2020, but was fired in January, CNN reports. Among other allegations of compromised security at the company, Zatko also directly accused executives of misleading the board about these issues.
China has a history of infiltrating American institutions and corporations. The Department of Defense funded at least two former Chinese government employees, one of whom was also an undisclosed Chinese Communist Party member through grants given to conduct research on nuclear warfare. President Joe Biden’s green energy adviser John Podesta has cooperated with Tung Chee-hwa, which some say is a front for the CCP. TikTok, the popular social media app among young westerners, has heavy ties to Chinese propaganda outlets, as 300 employees at its parent company list state media as a former place of employment.
“Today’s hearing only confirms that Mr. Zatko’s allegations are riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies,” a Twitter spokesperson told the Daily Caller.