Twitter's former security chief Alan Rosa filed a lawsuit against X, Elon Musk and company consultant Steve Davis, claiming he was wrongfully fired for protesting cost-cutting measures led by Musk. Rosa's lawyers wrote in the complaint that the cost cutting hindered Twitter's ability to meet regulatory requirements from the Federal Trade Commission and the European Commission.
The lawsuit alleges that Musk hired Steve Davis as a consultant and gave him broad powers, which he used to immediately "begin cutting back on products and services that Twitter supports and complies with Twitter's FTC consent order." The law was enacted just months after Twitter reached a settlement with the FTC over its improper use of users' personal information. Rosa complained in the lawsuit that both Davis and Musk were "dismissive" of the ordinance.
In November, around the time Davis was hired, a Twitter lawyer posted a message on Slack saying anyone who felt uncomfortable with what Twitter was asking them to do should seek whistleblower protections.
Among the purported cuts are an application used to sniff out software vulnerabilities and a Salesforce program the company needs to respond to law enforcement requests for information. Rosa opposed both moves, which he claimed would make it impossible for the company to comply with the Consent Decree and the EU Digital Services Act. Rosa said in the lawsuit that he complained to the company's legal department.
Rosa also said Davis gave him just a few hours to "cut the physical security budget by another 50% before midnight," which he said risked causing the company to violate a court order and store hundreds of devices that were put on hold by the lawsuit. Five days after he objected to the change, Twitter revoked Rosa's access, fired him without reason or notice, and then withheld his severance package while it investigated his conduct as an employee, the lawsuit says.
Shortly before Rosa was fired, Musk's massive layoffs sparked a lawsuit and the first wave of the Musk-era advertising apocalypse. As money began to leak out, Musk tried to further tighten Twitter's belt by new methods such as selling everything or not paying rent. After forcing former employees to drop wrongful termination lawsuits and accept arbitration that Twitter was obligated to pay, Musk's company simply refused, prompting yet another lawsuit. Rosa's lawsuit uses similar reasoning to that lawsuit, citing a case.