Social media platform Twitter has agreed to pay a fine of $150m issued by the US Federal Trade Commissions (FTC), for the improper use of private account data to target advertisements.

According to court documents, more than 140m users shared their phone numbers and email addresses to Twitter between 2013 and 2019 based on “deceptive statements” that the data would be used for account security.

Twitter admitted to the privacy incident in 2019, saying it served tailored ads to account holders by “inadvertently” using phone numbers and email addresses that were provided for two-factor authentication purposes.

“As the complaint notes, Twitter obtained data from users on the pretext of harnessing it for security purposes but then ended up also using the data to target users with ads,” FTC chair Lina M Khan said yesterday (25 May). “This practice affected more than 140m Twitter users, while boosting Twitter’s primary source of revenue.”

Twitter first received the FTC complaint in 2020 and said it expected fines to cost between $150m to $250m.

The FTC’s complaint related to a consent order from 2011 that required Twitter to maintain a comprehensive security programme and barred the company from misleading its consumers about the extent of its privacy practices.

Along with the fine for violating the 2011 order, the FTC said a new order has been issued with a batch of new provisions for Twitter to follow.

The new order prohibits Twitter from using the numbers and email addresses it collected to serve ads. Twitter has to provide multi-factor authentication options that don’t require users to provide a mobile number.

Twitter also has to implement an enhanced privacy program and information security program that includes multiple new provisions. The company has to get these assessed by an independent third party approved by the FTC and report privacy or security incidents to the FTC within 30 days.

US Department of Justice associate attorney general Vanita Gupta said: “The $150m penalty reflects the seriousness of the allegations against Twitter, and the substantial new compliance measures to be imposed as a result of today’s proposed settlement will help prevent further misleading tactics that threaten users’ privacy.”

In 2019, the FTC fined Facebook $5bn for its mishandling of user data after years of investigation. The commission referred to the fine as an “unprecedented penalty” and an “historic victory for American consumers”. Facebook was also subject to new privacy and data security requirements as a result of the case.

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