Wyden Renews Call to Encrypt Twitter DMs, Secure Americans’ Data From Unfriendly Foreign Governments

Washington, D.C., Aug. 24 — Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement following a complaint this week by a former Twitter employee that alleged widespread poor privacy and security practices at the social media company:

“The best time to encrypt users’ DMs was 5 years ago. The second-best time is today, after reports that thousands of Twitter employees may have access to those conversations.

“I personally urged Jack Dorsey to secure users’ private conversations with strong, end-to-end encryption years ago, to ensure Americans couldn’t be targeted by criminals, predators and spies. And I renewed that call over, and over again. Unfortunately, I and other advocates were right to be concerned. For the same reason, Apple should end-to-end encrypt iCloud data and secure it against unwanted access. I am also deeply troubled by accusations that foreign companies and governments may have had access to Americans’ private data. I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation to address the national security risks of foreign companies getting our data, and remain deeply committed to passing it in light of these new accusations.”