Twitter reached a settlement with the Department of Justice (FTC) that included a civil penalty of $150 million and a civil fine.
According to a Thursday statement , the US government filed a complaint alleging that social media giant Facebook used private information to target ads.
The federal court must approve the settlement. Twitter will also be required to comply with the agreement to protect data privacy.
“The $150 million penalty is a serious reflection of the allegations against Twitter. The substantial new compliance measures that will be imposed today as a result to today’s settlement will help prevent any further misleading tactics that threaten users privacy,” stated Associate Attorney General Vanita Gopta.
This complaint alleges that Twitter deceived its users about what it did with their private data and how it protected them between May 2013 to September 2019.
Twitter collected email addresses and phone numbers supposedly for account-security purposes, but it failed to disclose that it would also use the same information for targeting ads from other companies.
According to the complaint, 140 million Twitter users were affected. The company also violated the FTC Act as well as an administrative order issued March 2011 by the FTC.
Twitter stated in a statement Wednesday that “Keeping data secure is something we take very seriously and we have collaborated with the FTC all the way.” “We have agreed to a $150M USD penalty and have worked with the agency on program enhancements and operational updates in order to protect people’s privacy and keep their personal data secure.”
