Senator Markey calls for an end to 'Big Tech's failure of self-regulation' following rejection of Musk's letter

Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts is calling on Congress to pass new legislation to curb Big Tech companies after Elon Musk ignored a request for information. "Elon Musk was able to respond to my tweets but did not respond to my letter by yesterday's deadline and did not answer basic Twitter verification questions," Markey tweeted on Saturday. "Congress must end the era of failed Big Tech self-regulation and pass laws that put user safety above the whims of billionaires."

Musk had until Nov. 25 to respond to a letter sent by the senator on Nov. 11 regarding Twitter's paid account verification feature. The initial rollout of the new Twitter Blue saw trolls using the service to impersonate celebrities, politicians and brands. Markey sent Musk a list of questions about the launch after The Washington Post created a "verified" account impersonating him. A day after Markey shared a copy of the letter on Twitter, Musk attacked the senator.

"Maybe it's because your real account looks like a parody," Musk tweeted. "And why does your pp have a mask!?" he added hours later, referring to Markey's profile picture, which shows the decision maker wearing a face covering. The exchange prompted Markey to chastise the billionaire. “One of your companies is subject to an FTC consent decree. Auto safety watchdog NHTSA is investigating another for killing people. And you spend your time picking online fights,” the senator said. “Fix your businesses. Or Congress will."

As of this writing, Musk has yet to respond to Markey's latest tweet. It's hard to say whether the senator's appeal will result in legislative action, especially with a split between the House of Representatives and the Senate. Musk appeared to answer at least one of Markey's questions when he announced Twitter's new verification system on Friday. The latest iteration of the program will feature manual authentication and different colored checkmarks for different types of users. "Gold check for businesses, gray check for government, blue for individuals (celebrity or not) and all verified accounts will be manually authenticated before check activation," he said.

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices correct at time of publication.