The US is unforgiving, Twitter has to pay a hefty $ 150 million fine after law enforcement accuses it of illegally using user data to help sell targeted ads.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Justice Department say Twitter violated an agreement it had with regulators, court documents showed. Twitter had promised not to give out personal information such as phone numbers and email addresses to advertisers.
Federal investigators say the social media company has broken these rules. Twitter was fined $ 400,000 in December 2020 for breaking the GDPR data privacy rules in Europe. The FTC is an independent agency of the United States government whose mission is the enforcement of antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection.
It accuses Twitter of violating a 2011 FTC order that explicitly prohibited the company from misrepresenting its privacy and security practices. Twitter generates the majority of its revenue from advertising on its platform, which allows users ranging from consumers to celebrities to businesses to post 280-character messages or tweets.
According to a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department on behalf of the FTC, Twitter in 2013 began asking users to provide a phone number or email address to improve account security.
“As the complaint notes, Twitter obtained data from users under the pretext of exploiting it for security purposes, but then ended up using the data as well. to target users with advertisements“Said Lina Khan, president of the FTC.
“This practice has affected more than 140 million Twitter users, while increasing Twitter’s main source of revenue“.
Twitter: authentication violation
Ian Reynolds, chief executive of cybersecurity firm Secure Team, told the press: “Once again, Twitter is violating the trust their users have in their platform by using their private information to their advantage and increasing their revenue.”
He added: “Twitter has led its customers into a false sense of security by acquiring their data claiming they were for security reasons and protecting their account, but ultimately ended up using the data to target their users with advertisements. “
“This reality shows the power companies still have over your data and that there is still a long way to go before users can feel comfortable knowing they are in full control of their digital footprint.”
To authenticate an account, Twitter requires people to provide a phone number and email address. This information also helps people reset passwords and unlock their accounts if needed, as well as enabling two-factor authentication.
Two-factor authentication provides an extra layer of security by sending a code to a phone number or email address to help users log into Twitter along with a username and password.
But, according to the FTC, at least until September 2019, Twitter used that information too to increase your advertising activity. It is accused of allowing advertisers to access user safety information.
In addition to the penalty, Twitter must also:
- stop using illegally collected phone numbers and email addresses
- notify users of the misuse of security information
- inform users of the FTC law enforcement action
- explain how to disable personalized ads and review multi-factor authentication settings
- provide multi-factor authentication options that don’t require a phone number
- implement an enhanced privacy and security program that includes reporting incidents to the FTC within 30 days
“The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the privacy of sensitive consumer data“said Vanita Gupta, associate attorney general of the United States.
“The $ 150 million fine reflects the gravity of the Twitter allegations, and substantial new compliance measures to be enforced as a result of the proposed deal will help prevent further misleading tactics that threaten user privacy.”
This measure was more punitive, hopefully, to prevent Twitter from repeating the crime, but it is also hoped that it will stop other platforms from using incorrect methods, which would harm the privacy of their customers.
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