Twitter settles FTC charges

Twitter has agreed to implement a number of security measures to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the social network failed to protect users’ personal information.

Two security breaches exposed the data of dozens of Twitter users — including the account of then-President-elect Barack Obama — in early 2009. The FTC filed a complaint charging that hackers seized control of administrative accounts, viewed nonpublic information and sent fraudulent tweets.

One tweet was sent from Obama’s account, offering more than 150,000 followers a chance to win $500 in free gasoline. Another fake tweet was sent from the account of Fox News, according to the FTC complaint.

Twitter announced Thursday that it will prevent further breaches of administrative accounts by requiring employees to use hard-to-guess passwords and to reset them regularly, for example, under its settlement with the FTC. It will also have its privacy practices audited by third parties and comply with detailed record-keeping processes for up to 20 years.

“When a company promises consumers that their personal information is secure, it must live up to that promise,” said David Vladeck, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Consumers who use social networking sites may choose to share some information with others, but they still have a right to expect that their personal information will be kept private and secure.”

The FTC’s 11-month investigation of Twitter — the first the agency has brought against a social networking service — is a sign of the federal government’s increased scrutiny of the privacy practices of Internet companies. The hacks against Twitter were relatively minor — about 55 accounts were compromised — compared with more recent breaches that, for example, exposed as many as 100,000 iPad users’ information on AT&T’s network. No formal complaint has been opened on that incident.

Privacy advocates have also complained about Google and Facebook for exposing personal data when the companies rolled out new services or changed privacy policies without sufficient notification to consumers. Both companies said they tried to remedy the problems, but it raised the ire of some in Congress who want to legislate new safeguards for online

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/38974.html#ixzz0x43gYaI9

Tags:

* Barack Obama,
* Facebook,
* Twitter,
* FCC,
* Google,
* Privacy,
* Consumer Protection,
* David Vladeck,
* Tweets
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