Twitter agrees to pay 150 million fine – Social Media Explorer

After the US government sued Twitter, the social media platform agreed to pay a 150 million fine. The company misled users about the privacy of their data. The federal lawsuit alleges that the microblog platform did not inform its users for many years about how they use their personal data to target advertising campaigns. This was in violation of a privacy agreement with the Federal Trade Commission since 2011.

Lina Khan (FTC Chair) says the practice has affected more than 140,000,000 Twitter users and boosted Twitter’s primary source revenue.

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have claimed that Twitter told users it had collected their email addresses and telephone numbers for account security purposes but failed to say it would use the information to send targeted ads to customers.

“The judiciary is committed to protecting the privacy of sensitive consumer information,” said Vanita Gupta, associate attorney general, in a statement on Wednesday. The $ 150 million fine is a serious reflection of Twitter’s allegations. Significant new compliance measures that will be implemented so that today’s settlement will prevent any misleading tactics that could threaten users’ privacy.

Twitter has paid a 150 million fine to settle a lawsuit filed by the government. The platform has agreed to take significant new compliant steps to improve its data privacy practices.

DoJ said Twitter must create and maintain an information protection program and privacy guidelines, as well as a privacy review and written report so that it can implement any product or service that collects personal information. Its privacy protections need to be checked regularly

Twitter must receive periodic evaluations of its data protection programs from an outside evaluator. It is required to provide annual certificate of consent from senior officers. Subsequent reporting of data privacy incidents affecting 250 users or more is required. In addition, Twitter must notify Twitter subscribers after September 17, 2019, about the resolution of its U.S. subscribers. Users will have the option to protect their privacy or security by providing options. The decision would require that the DoJ (and the FTC) each take responsibility for monitoring Twitter’s compliance.

Paul Bishop (CompareTech’s Internet privacy lawyer) explained that the fine is a warning to all social media platforms.

Twitter acknowledged that in 2019, it used the user’s phone number to verify two-step verification for marketing purposes. This was a violation of both US and EU law. “Now we are finally seeing the results,” Bishop wrote in an email.

Charles King, a technology analyst at Pund-IT, said the FTC’s 150 150 million fine was based on an order and a 2011 commission ruling.

King observed that Twitter had agreed to abide by the agreement by promising not to exploit users’ personal information commercially. However, Twitter began breaking its promise in 2013 when it sold users’ personal email addresses to advertisers. The FTC determined that Twitter was abusing its position with subscribers and issued a warning to the company about future violations. Twitter responded that they understood, and then bought a rope ladder to help them find a strong branch in a tree.

Also, the wheel of justice seemed to slow down.

“It is noteworthy that despite the FTC’s acquittal, it took almost three years for the DoJ and the FTC to reach an agreement, no criminal charges were brought and no precedent was set by any court,” Bishop said. I want to see billion-dollar companies hold accountable.