'Twitter underreports the number of bots,' the Attorney General launches an investigation

Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas, USA, announced on June 6, 2022 that Twitter has begun an investigation on possible false reports of bot accounts.

AG Paxton Launches Investigation Against Twitter for Potentially Deceiving Texas Consumers, Texas Businesses Over Fake Bot Accounts | Office of the Attorney General
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/ag-paxton-launches-investigation-against-twitter-potentially-deceiving-texas-consumers-texas

Texas AG launches investigation against Twitter for allegedly misreporting fake bot accounts | Fox Business
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/texas-ag-investigation-twitter-fake-bot-accounts

According to Attorney General Paxton, Twitter reported in a filing with financial regulators that 'less than 5% of all users have bots,' even though about 20% of all accounts are likely to be bots. There is a suspicion.

Attorney General Paxton's office said in a statement to the media, 'Bots often do fraudulent and annoying acts, such as increasing followers and reach. Many of these bot accounts are users on the platform. Not only will the experience be compromised, but the costs a company will need to do business can also increase, which directly harms consumers and businesses in Texas. '

Elon Musk, who is advancing the acquisition of Twitter, is also concerned about this issue, and he is willing to cancel the acquisition unless the actual situation becomes clear.

Elon Musk tweeted, 'Twitter acquisition can't move forward until Twitter bots prove to be less than 5%.' --GIGAZINE

by Daniel Oberhaus

Justice Secretary Paxton issued a Civil investigative demand (CID) on Twitter because of concerns that Twitter's underreporting of bots could affect Texas consumers and businesses. We asked for a document on how we handle user data and how it relates to our advertising business. Twitter has to respond by June 27, 2022.

In a statement, Attorney General Paxton said, 'Texas have to believe in Twitter's official announcement that almost every user of Twitter is a real person. This is not just for regular Twitter users, but for Twitter. It's also important for Texas companies and advertisers doing business in, so if Twitter misrepresents the number of real accounts for profit, I have a duty to protect Texas citizens. ' did.