According to Reuters Twitter Inc has to pay $150 million to resolve allegations it misused private information of consumers like phone numbers, for advertising after ensuring the users that the info will be used for security reasons.
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‌The complaint said that the misrepresentations infringed the FTC Act and a 2011 settlement with the agency.
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‌"Specifically, while Twitter represented to users that it collected their telephone numbers and email addresses to secure their accounts, Twitter failed to disclose that it also used user contact information to aid advertisers in reaching their preferred audiences," the complaint said.
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‌The complaint also contends that Twitter falsely said it complied with the European Union-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Frameworks, which bar companies from using data in ways that consumers do not authorize.

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The company will pay $150 million as part of the settlement declared by the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In addition to the monetary settlement, the agreement needs Twitter to improve its compliance practices.

Twitter is a free service the primary source of income is through advertising. Billionaire Elon Musk, who is buying the service for $44 billion, has condemned its ads-driven business model and promised to modify its revenue sources.

U.S. officials pointed out that of the $3.4 billion in revenue that Twitter earned in 2019, about $3 billion was from advertising.

The company made $5 billion in revenue for 2021. It said in a filing earlier this month that it had put aside $150 million after agreeing "in principle" upon a penalty with the FTC.

This is not the first time social media infringes the privacy of the people. Facebook has also done the same before. We expect responsibility from the social media and all apps for that matter in the era of internet.