Twitter agrees to $150 million fine over US data privacy complaint

Twitter agreed to a settlement including a $150 million civil penalty with the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

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In a complaint filed Thursday, the US government alleged that the social media giant used private information for targeted ads, according to a statement on Thursday

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The settlement is still subject to approval from the federal court. Per the agreement, Twitter would also have to implement \”robust compliance measures to protect users’ data privacy.\”

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“The $150 million penalty reflects the seriousness of the allegations against Twitter, and the substantial new compliance measures to be imposed as a result of today’s proposed settlement will help prevent further misleading tactics that threaten users’ privacy,\” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta.

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The complaint specifically alleges that between May 2013 and September 2019, Twitter deceived users as to what the company did with their private information and how it protected it.

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Twitter collected phone numbers and email addresses supposedly for \”account-security purposes,\” but failed to disclose that it would also use that same information for target ads from other companies, per the document.

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According to the complaint, this affected 140 million Twitter users and the company violated the FTC Act and an administrative order issued by the FTC in March 2011.

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\”Keeping data secure and respecting privacy is something we take extremely seriously, and we have cooperated with the FTC every step of the way,\” Twitter said in a statement Wednesday. \”In reaching this settlement, we have paid a $150M USD penalty, and we have aligned with the agency on operational updates and program enhancements to ensure that people’s personal data remains secure and their privacy protected.\”