Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., told Newsmax that if a large enough portion of Twitter's user base is fake, Congress or the Department of Justice should investigate the company for defrauding advertisers. The congressman added that if a sizeable amount of Twitter's base is artificial, then the company's prospective owner, Elon Musk, should get the deal at a reduced price.
Buck told "Spicer & Co." that "if there was fraud involved, then I think the Department of Justice should be looking into what Twitter did. But I think this is an issue Elon Musk is using, [where] he may want to renegotiate the deal and get better terms. He should get what he paid for; that's the bottom line."
In terms of fake accounts and advertising, Buck said, "One of the things we need to look at is what these companies — Facebook, Twitter, other companies — are representing to the public" in terms of real social media accounts. The congressman added that if these companies are saying, "'If you buy advertising with us, you're going to reach so many people — real-life people.' And [if] that's not the case, then that kind of fraud should be investigated by Congress, and it may require new laws."
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