The president of the United States, Joe Biden, hinted this Wednesday that the purchase of the social network Twitter by Elon Musk could pose a threat to national security.
Asked if he believed that the South African tycoon could be a threat to US security and whether it would be appropriate to carry out an investigation into his acquisition of Twitter, the US president stated that Musk’s “technical relationships” with other countries “are worth looking at.”
“I think that Elon Musk’s cooperation or technical relations with other countries are worth looking into. Whether or not you’re doing something inappropriate, I’m not suggesting that. I’m suggesting it’s worth looking at. And that is all I will say, ”Biden assured during a press conference in which he assessed the results of the mid-term elections.
Biden’s statement opens the door to scrutiny by the United States Government on Musk’s purchase agreements of the Twitter social network and foreign participation in the shareholding.
Saudi billionaire prince Al Waleed bin Talal became Twitter’s second largest shareholder, after Musk, after announcing the transfer of ownership of the 34,948,975 shares he held in Twitter, valued at $1.89 billion, to the “new Twitter.”
Photo: Reuters Archive
“Dear friend Chief Tweet, Elon Musk, together all the way”, Al Waleed assured in his social network account shortly after his acquisition by the tycoon was announced.
The words of the American president take place after various media such as Financial Timesreported that officials of the country value if there is any legal way to review the activities of the billionaireincluding the agreement by the social network.
In this sense, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy expressed his concern before the Foreign Investment Committee of the Upper House for the participation of the Government of Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the acquisition of Twitter, That would rise to five percent.
Given the fundamental role of Twitter in public communication, I am concerned about the potential influence of the Saudi Arabian government.” Murphy wrote to the Senate committee, according to the newspaper.
“Putting aside the vast amount of data that Twitter has collected on US citizens, any chance that foreign ownership of Twitter will result in a increased censorship, disinformation or political violence it is a serious national security concern,” he added.
(With information from Europe Press Y Aristegui News)