Twitter expects to pay a $250 million fine of its violation of data use policies as reported by FT. The company is currently under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. This if for improperly using users data to improve ad targeting.
It has not been a good couple of months for Twitter from a privacy perspective. Originally, back in July, the company had to apologize to business users for exposing their private information.
Then the company was the subject of a bitcoin hacking scandal and another that included at least one elected official. The former breach has now resulted in three individuals arrest. However, Twitter does not need more privacy scandals.
Twitter preparing for a large fine
In a regulatory filing, the company said it had received a draft complaint. This complaint alleged it violated a promise not to mislead consumers about the security of their data.
The filling said the cost of resolving the issue would be between $150m and $250m. Engadget reports that fine pertains to the data use by Twitter from 2013 to 2019.
Last October, Twitter admitted to “inadvertently” using personal information. This was for what they believed to be safety and security practices” in order to better target advertising.
The company admitted its practices were an error. Reportedly, the San Francisco company used personal information to match users to advertisers’ marketing lists.
FTC files draft complaint
The FTC has also filed a draft complaint f“mislead consumers about the extent to which it protects the security, privacy, and confidentiality” for breaching a consent order the company signed back in 2011. This was originally to resolve previous charges that the company had put users’ privacy at risk.
The consent order forced the company to promise not to “mislead consumers about the extent to which it protects the security, privacy, and confidentiality”. It also stated that Twitter must “establish and maintain a comprehensive information security program”.
Given all the issues that Twitter has faced in the last few months, this is a worrying situation. The company’s revenues dropped 19 per cent year on year to $683m in the second quarter of 2020. This led the company to post an adjusted net loss of $127m.
With more and more focus on data privacy, big social media companies are increasingly under scrutiny. Twitter, Facebook and the like are going to have to change the behavior and also repair their reputations if they are to turn the tide. However, as things stand, there is a lot of pressure on them from all sides.