Twitter hit with $150M fine for privacy violations

Twitter will be paying a $150 million penalty to settle a federal lawsuit alleging the company's privacy violations, reports CNN. The lawsuit alleged that Twitter had not told users regarding the use of their data for targeted advertising, which was in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act and a 2011 settlement. "From at least May 2013 until at least September 2019, Twitter misrepresented to users of its online communication service the extent to which it maintained and protected the security and privacy of their nonpublic contact information," said the lawsuit. As part of the settlement, Twitter will also be prohibited from earning from "deceptively collected data," as well as enable the use of multi-factor authentication apps. "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," said Twitter Chief Privacy Officer Damien Kieran.