Twitter fined USD 150 million over alleged user-privacy violations, to prepare new standards of security

Controversy surrounding Twitter does not seem to end. Now, Twitter will have to pay a fine of USD 150 million for not keeping user data confidential over the past six years. The company will also have to prepare new standards to protect user data.

The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with Twitter on Wednesday. Regulators allege that Twitter violated a 2011 FTC order protecting the confidentiality of their non-public contact information by defrauding users.

Read | Amid takeover fiasco, Elon Musk sued by Twitter investors for delayed stake disclosure

The US government alleged that from May 2013 to September 2019, Twitter told users that it was collecting their phone numbers and email addresses to protect accounts. But the company failed to disclose that it would also use this information to enable companies to send targeted online ads to users on the platform.

Regulators also alleged in a federal lawsuit filed on Wednesday that Twitter falsely claimed it complied with US confidentiality agreements with the European Union and Switzerland. US Attorney Stephanie Hinds said, "Users who share their personal information on social media have a right to know whether that information is being used to help advertisers target customers."

19 billion active users on top 10 social media platforms

In the last 20 years, there have been 19 billion active users on the top-10 social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram. That is, in a world with a population of 8 billion, on average, every person is present on more than 2 platforms. Its biggest disadvantage is that the speed of spreading fake news and hate speech has also increased manifold.

Fake news increased by 900%

According to the report of Reuters, during the Covid-19 period, fake news on social media increased by 900%. Every month 4-5 crore misinformation were posted on Facebook in March and April 2020 and 15-20 lakh accounts on Twitter just kept spreading fake news.

Not only this, a University of Pennsylvania study says, those who use social media for more than 30 minutes are also falling prey to the problem of 'loneliness'.