According to allegations by the US government, Twitter used users’ telephone numbers and email addresses for its advertising platform – which is now costing the online service $150 million.
According to allegations by the US government, Twitter used users’ telephone numbers and email addresses for its advertising platform – which is now costing the online service $150 million.
Twitter agreed to pay that amount in fines with the FTC and the Department of Justice to settle a privacy lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, released Wednesday, Twitter asked users for their phone numbers and email addresses, saying it would help secure their accounts. Online services access e-mails or messages to mobile phone numbers, for example when you have forgotten your password or to unlock blocked profiles. However, Twitter also used the data to show users personalized ads, the lawsuit says.
Between May 2013 and September 2019, more than 140 million users shared their phone numbers or email addresses with Twitter, the US government emphasized. In the service’s approach, she saw a violation of an agreement from 2011, in which Twitter had committed itself, among other things, to transparency in data protection.
