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US President Joe Biden says the ties billionaire Elon Musk has to other countries is “worthy of being looked at” following Musk’s purchase of the social media platform Twitter. Biden’s comments come amidst scrutiny of the platform’s future under Musk.
During a news conference at the White House Wednesday, Biden was pressed whether he believed Musk posed a threat to national security and whether Musk’s purchase of Twitter with help from a member of Saudi Arabia’s royal family should be investigated by US authorities.
Musk purchased the social media platform last month with assistance from foreign sources such as Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal – who is a longtime investor of Twitter, and an investment company by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund.
“I think that Elon Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worth of being looked at,” said Biden. “Whether he is doing anything inappropriate, I’m not suggesting that. I’m suggesting they’re worth being looked at. And that’s all I’ll say.”
Biden’s comments follow the White House’s denial of a report claiming that the Biden administration was considering launching a national security review into Musk’s business ventures.
Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy has called for a probe into Saudi Arabia’s stake in Musk’s $44 billion purchase of Twitter, raising concerns about the platform being under the partial ownership of a country that has a “clear interest in repressing political speech and impacting US politics.”
Musk’s purchase of Twitter has led to concerns that the billionaire may be pressured by authoritarian countries to suppress dissident speech and disclose the identities of government critics. Musk himself has also been subject to controversy with his comments that could be perceived as friendly to the Chinese and Russian governments.
The country’s Federal Trade Commission said it was monitoring Twitter “with deep concern” following the resignations of the platform’s top privacy and compliance officers. This would put Twitter at risk of breaching regulatory orders.
“We are tracking recent developments at Twitter with deep concern,” FTC public affairs director Douglas Farrar told Reuters. “No CEO or company is above the law and companies must follow our consent decrees. Our revised consent order gives us new tools to ensure compliance and we are prepared to use them.”
