Twitter agrees with DOJ and FTC to pay $150 million civil penalty and to implement comprehensive compliance program to resolve alleged data privacy violations

The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), announced a settlement that, if approved by a federal court, will require Twitter Inc. to pay $150 million in civil penalties and implement robust compliance measures to protect users’ data privacy. The settlement will resolve allegations that Twitter violated the FTC Act and an administrative order issued by the FTC in March 2011 by misrepresenting how it would make use of users’ nonpublic contact information.

In a complaint filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the government alleges that Twitter violated the FTC Act and the 2011 order by deceiving users about the extent to which Twitter maintained and protected the security and privacy of users’ nonpublic contact information. Specifically, the complaint alleges that, from May 2013 to September 2019, Twitter told its users that it was collecting their telephone numbers and email addresses for account-security purposes, but failed to disclose that it also would use that information to help companies send targeted advertisements to consumers. The complaint further alleges that Twitter falsely claimed to comply with the European Union-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Frameworks, which prohibit companies from processing user information in ways that are not compatible with the purposes authorized by the users.

“The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the privacy of consumers’ sensitive data,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “The $150 million 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.”

“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," said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “This practice affected more than 140 million Twitter users, while boosting Twitter’s primary source of revenue.”

“Consumers who share their private information have a right to know if that information is being used to help advertisers target customers,” said U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds for the Northern District of California. “Social media companies that are not honest with consumers about how their personal information is being used will be held accountable.”

Twitter has agreed to settle the government’s allegations by paying a $150 million civil penalty and implementing significant new compliance measures intended to ensure that Twitter improves its data privacy practices. For instance, Twitter will be required to develop and maintain a comprehensive privacy and information-security program, conduct a privacy review with a written report prior to implementing any new product or service that collects users’ private information, and conduct regular testing of its data privacy safeguards. Twitter also will be required to obtain regular assessments of its data privacy program from an independent assessor, provide annual certifications of compliance from a senior officer, provide reports after any data privacy incidents affecting 250 or more users, and comply with numerous other reporting and record-keeping requirements. The settlement also will require Twitter to notify all U.S. customers who joined Twitter before Sept. 17, 2019, about the settlement and to provide users with options for protecting their privacy and security. Under the settlement terms, the Department of Justice and FTC will each have responsibility for monitoring and enforcing Twitter’s compliance.

This matter is being handled by attorneys in the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, including Director Gustav W. Eyler, Assistant Director Lisa K. Hsiao and Trial Attorneys Zachary Cowan and Deborah Sohn; Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet Ong of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California; James Kohm, Reenah Kim and Laura Koss from the FTC’s Division of Enforcement; and Andrea Arias of the FTC’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection.

For additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For additional information about the FTC, visit its website at www.FTC.gov.