Once again, Twitter has found itself embroiled in a lawsuit. This time, the legal charges have been filed by some of the former top executives of the social media company before it was bought by Elon Musk last year.
Parag Agarwal, former CEO of Twitter, along with Vijaya Gadde (Twitter’s former general counsel) and Ned Segal (former CFO at the company) have together filed a lawsuit against the popular microblogging site, seeking reimbursements of over $1 million. According to media reports, Agarwal claims in the lawsuit that Twitter is legally bound to reimburse them for costs of litigation, investigations, and congressional inquiries related to their former jobs at the social media company.
When approached for a comment on the matter, Twitter continued its new-found practice of responding with a poop emoji. According to AFP, the court filing lays down expenses related to inquiries by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). However, it does not comprise details about the nature of the investigation, or whether these investigations are still ongoing or not.
The documents highlight that Agrawal and Segal, who were the CEO and the CFO at Twitter at that time, provided testimony to the SEC in 2022, and since then, “have continued to engage with federal authorities.” Vijay Gadde was also involved in a US Congressional hearing concerning big tech and freedom of speech after the revelation of the “Twitter Files” when it came to content moderation. Additionally, Gadde was cited in a lawsuit by a man who alleged that he was “doxed” as a white supremacist on Twitter.
The SEC is currently investigating whether Musk had complied with securities rules when he accumulated Twitter shares and revealed his offer to acquire Twitter to unlock its “extraordinary potential.” After several months, legal tussles, and chaotic drama, Musk finally acquired the social media platform in October and promptly fired Agarwal and other top execs. Since then, his hostile takeover was characterized by huge layoffs, chaos, and indecision at Twitter as Musk continued to “cut costs like crazy” amidst a drop in revenues.
