By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com -- The Federal Trade Commission sent letters to Twitter demanding that the social media platform turn over all internal communications related to owner Elon Musk, according to documents viewed by the Wall Street Journal.
In a dozen letters to Twitter and its lawyers since Musk's $44 billion purchase of the business last October, the consumer protection watchdog asked the firm to hand over the information due to concerns over how a series of recent layoffs may impact users' data, the WSJ reported.
The letters demanded that Twitter also "identify all journalists" that were given access to the firm's records and hand over any details about the launch of the Twitter Blue subscription service.
The FTC is seeking to depose Musk as well in connection with its investigation, according to the WSJ and Bloomberg News.
The WSJ noted that the letters seem to indicate that Twitter has responded to the FTC's concerns, but the agency still flagged "serious" worries around its compliance as recently as late January.
A spokesperson for the FTC told the paper that it is conducting a "rigorous investigation" into Twitter's compliance with a consent order that came into effect before Musk bought the company.
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment, the WSJ said.
The letters stem from the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, which released excerpts of them on Tuesday as part of a staff report on the FTC probe into Twitter.