Washington: Twitter Inc. has raised $150 million to settle charges that it misused personal information, such as phone numbers, to target advertising, after telling users that the information would be used for security reasons, according to court documents filed on Wednesday. has agreed to pay.
According to court documents, Twitter’s settlement includes allegations that it misrepresented the “security and privacy” of user data between May 2013 and September 2019.
The company will pay $150 million as part of the agreement announced by the company Justice Department And this federal trade commission (FTC). In addition to the monetary settlement, the agreement requires Twitter to improve its compliance practices.
The complaint said the misrepresentation violated the FTC Act and a 2011 agreement with the agency.
The complaint states, “Notably, while Twitter represented to users that it collected their telephone numbers and email addresses to secure their accounts, Twitter failed to disclose that it had allowed advertisers to choose their preferred audience.” Also used user contact information to help us reach you.”
Twitter’s chief privacy officer, Damien Kieran, said in a statement that “we have aligned with the agency on operational updates and program enhancements” with the agreement to protect user privacy and security.
Twitter is a free service that mainly makes money through advertising. billionaire alon muskThe company, which is buying the service for $44 billion, has criticized its advertising-driven business model and pledged to diversify its revenue sources.
Musk commented on the social media company’s advertising practices and fines in a tweet late Wednesday, saying, “If Twitter wasn’t truthful here, what else isn’t true? This is very worrying news.”
US officials reported that of the $3.4 billion in revenue that Twitter generated in 2019, nearly $3 billion was from advertising.
The company generated $5 billion in revenue for 2021. It said in a filing earlier this month that it had set aside $150 million after agreeing “in principle” on penalties with the FTC.
“Twitter obtained data from users on the pretext of using it for security purposes, but then also ended up using the data to target users with ads,” FTC Chair Leena Khan said in a statement. “The practice affected more than 140 million Twitter users, increasing Twitter’s primary source of revenue.”
The complaint also alleges that Twitter incorrectly stated that it complied with the EU-US and Swiss-US Privacy Shield frameworks, which prohibit companies from using data in ways that consumers do not authorize. We do.
Twitter’s settlement after years of collapse over tech companies’ privacy practices.
There were revelations in 2018 that Facebook, the world’s largest social network, was using phone numbers provided for two-factor authentication to serve up ads to privacy advocates.
Facebook, now called metaIt likewise settled with the FTC on the issue in 2019 as part of a $5 billion settlement.
According to court documents, Twitter’s settlement includes allegations that it misrepresented the “security and privacy” of user data between May 2013 and September 2019.
The company will pay $150 million as part of the agreement announced by the company Justice Department And this federal trade commission (FTC). In addition to the monetary settlement, the agreement requires Twitter to improve its compliance practices.
The complaint said the misrepresentation violated the FTC Act and a 2011 agreement with the agency.
The complaint states, “Notably, while Twitter represented to users that it collected their telephone numbers and email addresses to secure their accounts, Twitter failed to disclose that it had allowed advertisers to choose their preferred audience.” Also used user contact information to help us reach you.”
Twitter’s chief privacy officer, Damien Kieran, said in a statement that “we have aligned with the agency on operational updates and program enhancements” with the agreement to protect user privacy and security.
Twitter is a free service that mainly makes money through advertising. billionaire alon muskThe company, which is buying the service for $44 billion, has criticized its advertising-driven business model and pledged to diversify its revenue sources.
Musk commented on the social media company’s advertising practices and fines in a tweet late Wednesday, saying, “If Twitter wasn’t truthful here, what else isn’t true? This is very worrying news.”
US officials reported that of the $3.4 billion in revenue that Twitter generated in 2019, nearly $3 billion was from advertising.
The company generated $5 billion in revenue for 2021. It said in a filing earlier this month that it had set aside $150 million after agreeing “in principle” on penalties with the FTC.
“Twitter obtained data from users on the pretext of using it for security purposes, but then also ended up using the data to target users with ads,” FTC Chair Leena Khan said in a statement. “The practice affected more than 140 million Twitter users, increasing Twitter’s primary source of revenue.”
The complaint also alleges that Twitter incorrectly stated that it complied with the EU-US and Swiss-US Privacy Shield frameworks, which prohibit companies from using data in ways that consumers do not authorize. We do.
Twitter’s settlement after years of collapse over tech companies’ privacy practices.
There were revelations in 2018 that Facebook, the world’s largest social network, was using phone numbers provided for two-factor authentication to serve up ads to privacy advocates.
Facebook, now called metaIt likewise settled with the FTC on the issue in 2019 as part of a $5 billion settlement.