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Twitter faces $250m fine for misusing phone numbers and email addresses

Twitter could be facing a fine of up to $250m (£190m) for misusing users' personal information.

<p>The social media giant confirmed it was under investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for "inadvertently" misusing people's data.</p><p>The company said last year that phone numbers and email addresses provided for security were actually used for advertising purposes between 2013 and 2019.</p><p>According to a draft complaint from the FTC, Twitter violated a promise not to mislead users about the security of their data by allowing it to be used by advertisers for targeted marketing.</p><p>In a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US, Twitter says the issue could cost the company between $150m (£115m) and $250m (£190m) to resolve, and it has set aside $150m (£115m) ahead of the potential penalty.</p><p>The large fine is a result of the FTC believing the social media company breached a previous agreement over past data breaches.</p><p>Twitter had agreed it would not "mislead consumers about the extent to which it protects the security, privacy, and confidentiality" of their data.</p><p>It follows <strong><a href="https://news.sky.com/story/twitter-hack-obama-bezos-and-kardashian-targeted-by-bitcoin-scam-12029394" target="_blank">a security incident</a></strong> at the company two weeks ago in which accounts belonging to celebrities including Barack Obama, Jeff Bezos and Kim Kardashian were hijacked by Bitcoin scammers.</p><p>Three people have now been charged over the incident, including <strong><a href="https://news.sky.com/story/teenager-from-bognor-regis-one-of-three-accused-over-obama-kardashian-twitter-hack-12040199" target="_blank">a teenager from Bognor Regis</a></strong>.</p><p>The company said out of the 130 accounts targeted, 45 were used to send tweets.</p><p>Direct message inboxes of 36 users were accessed, while the Twitter data of seven users were downloaded.</p><p>According to the Department of Justice, the scam Bitcoin account received more than 400 transfers worth more than $117,000 (£90,000).</p>