Twitter will pay $ 150 million to pay FTC, DOJ charges advertisers for user data

Twitter agreed to pay $ 150 million to the Federal Trade Commission, which its chief privacy officer, Damien Keeran, calls a “privacy incident” in which users’ email addresses and phone numbers “can be inadvertently used to advertising purposes “.

The settlement followed a government lawsuit against the company, which was filed today in a US district court in Northern California for misrepresenting customer data “from at least May 2013 to September 2019”.

Notably, when Twitter told users it collected their phone numbers and email addresses to protect their accounts, Twitter did not disclose that it also used users ‘contact information to reach advertisers’ intended audiences. in violation of FTC rules. It said over 140 million Twitter users have provided email addresses or phone numbers “based on Twitter’s false claims that their information was being used for specific account security purposes.”

“According to the complaint, Twitter obtained user data under the pretext of using it for security purposes, but then it also ended up using the data to target ads to users,” said Lina Khan, president of the FTC. You have noted that advertising is a major source of revenue for Twitter.

“The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the privacy of sensitive consumer data,” said Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “The $ 150 million fine reflects the gravity of the allegations against Twitter, and appropriate new and substantive measures imposed as a result of today’s proposed deal will help prevent further deceptive tactics that threaten user privacy.”

Twitter’s Kieran said in a blog post that the topic was discussed on September 17, 2019, and today we want to repeat the work we will continue to do to protect the privacy and safety of people who use Twitter. Respect for data protection and privacy is something we take very seriously. “

Payments include operational updates and program enhancements to “ensure that people’s personal data is kept safe and their privacy protected.”

This is the latest headache for a social media company in the midst of a weird dance with Tesla founder billionaire Elon Musk. Both sides agreed to the sale in late April, but Musk appears to back down, saying last week that he was “suspended” until he received information about the fake accounts.

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal declined to discuss the status of the deal at its annual shareholder meeting earlier in the day, citing regulatory restrictions.