Twitter Illegally Profiting From User Data?
Twitter has some serious woes as of late, the company is now being targeted for allegedly profiting illegally from user data.
This article is more than 2 years old
Many social media platforms are being targeted with lawsuits due to their nonconsensual acquisition of user information. Twitter is the latest platform to be sued for its illicit grab of data, as well as the company using private information for profit. The alleged act in 2019 revolved around Twitter giving advertisers email addresses and phone numbers without the users’ knowledge.
The 2019 issue is still fresher than ever, with two new Twitter users suing the company for damages three years ago. The class action lawsuit was filed in court on Thursday in Northern California by Texas resident Christina McClellan and California resident Billy Moses. The extensive document alleges that Twitter took personal information from them, including phone numbers and email addresses, without their consent for profit. Both plaintiffs stated that they did not know that the social media platform was selling their information to exterior groups.
Twitter is not unfamiliar with lawsuits of this stature. A few months ago, Twitter faced the consequences of privacy violation issues, leading to a $150 million compensation fee. The court found the platform guilty of infringing upon the Federal Trade Commission Act. Besides this humungous settlement, individuals nationwide have filed lawsuits against the company ranging from privacy infractions to releasing personal data.
Many suspected that Twitter got its limitless range of phone numbers and email addresses from its new two-step verification process. The verification function requires a secondary step, besides your password, to ensure that you’re the correct user entering the account. Though this type of verification is a significant step forward for internet privacy, usurping private information from this process is nothing short of unethical.
The lawsuit goes into depth about Twitter’s data extraction process. The lawsuit alleges that the social media platform sold email addresses and phone numbers to external groups that would then find a person’s identity through that information. The groups would then make targeted ads based on that person’s identity, internet search history, and other confidential information. Though this is an unfortunate reality of the current e-commerce market, not everyone has consented to have their data used for marketing practices.
One of the most frustrating issues of exploiting people’s private data is the vulnerability aspect. If email addresses and phone numbers get into the wrong hands, more information like credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc., could be illicitly extracted. Hackers with vital, personal information could find someone’s account and attempt an entry. Twitter’s thoughtless approach to the nonsensual use of private user data has left many people vulnerable to cyber attacks.
The lawsuit also believes that Twitter breached California’s Unfair Competition Law. This state law prohibits people and companies from using false advertising or illegal business practices. Though this law is relatively undefined, its vagueness encapsulates a range of fraudulent business behavior, like Twitter’s privacy violation.
Other than financial compensation, Twitter users suing the company want better transparency from the platform. This transparency includes ensuring users are aware of the platform’s intention to record private and personal data and whether it’ll be sold. Twitter being more explicit about its intentions could’ve prevented these extensive suits.
