Twitter deceived people about how it used their personal data, FTC says
CBSNov 26, 2021
Twitter Fined $150M on Accusation of Deceptive Practices
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Image copyright: Getty Images [via Wall Street Journal]
The Facts
The US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Wed. that Twitter will pay $150M and put in new safeguards after federal regulators alleged the platform failed to protect users' data for 6 years.
Federal prosecutors alleged the company collected phone numbers and emails - used for account security measures - and then fed them into advertising tools without disclosing such practices.
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
This is another example that, with Big Tech, not only is your data taken from you, it's ultimately used to influence your behavior. Ad targeting practices can range from simply annoying to outright treacherous, such as when fake news and accounts impact otherwise free and fair elections. Citizens suffer the ramifications while these tech giants profit, and there should be better regulation.
Pro-establishment narrative
Unfortunately, regulation squeezes small businesses in the tech sector. Conforming to government rules helps only to entrench dominant companies. For smaller firms, compliance is costly to administer, and innovation and healthy competition is-all-to-often reduced.
