America’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Justice Department announced the penalty following a violation of a 2011 FTC order, where Twitter allegedly deceived its users about how their private information was being used.
The regulating bodies allege that Twitter has been using the private phone numbers and emails of its users to assist companies to send targeted ads.
The San Francisco-based company told its users that their information was being harnessed for security purposes, failing to disclose how it would also be used for targeted ads.
Twitter’s breach of the order allegedly created a series of vulnerabilities that enabled hackers to infiltrate the platform and access private user information.
Along with the settlement, Twitter will also have to meet new compliance measures.
Samantha Hogan contributed to this article.
