Twitter has come under fire for using millions of UK users’ email addresses to sell targeted advertising without their knowledge.
On Tuesday, Twitter admitted that it allowed advertisers to benefit from data which it was given for security reasons, as part of two-factor authentication.
Director of Big Brother Watch, Silkie Carlo, stated that the breach was a “profoundly disappointing reflection” of social media companies’ attitudes towards privacy. She further commented:
“If they truly didn’t even know until last month that they were leaking this data, and they don’t know how many of their 140 million users are affected, then Twitter really shouldn’t be trusted with private data at all.”
Daily Telegraph – Twitter under fire for profiting from millions of UK users’ data sold to advertisers