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| Twitter said the error had been corrected and that it was "taking steps to make sure we don?t make a mistake like this again" AFP/File |
Paris (AFP) - The social network Twitter said overnight that user's personal data had been used for advertising purposes, without their consent and despite dedicated settings to counteract such events.
A Twitter
statement said the fault was corrected Monday and that an investigation was
being conducted to determine how many people had been affected, while advising
users to verify their data sharing settings.
The
situation involved two cases, the first one arising if users clicked or viewed
an advertisement for a mobile application and then interacted with it since May
2018.
"In
that case, we may have shared certain data (e.g., country code, if you engaged
with the ad and when, information about the ad, etc) with trusted measurement
and advertising partners, even if you didn't give us permission to do so,"
the statement said.
The second
case involved Twitter showing people ads "based on inferences we made
about the devices you use, even if you did not give us permission to do
so," it added.
In that
case, data was not used outside the company and did not contain personal
information such as passwords or e-mail accounts, according to Twitter.
Twitter
apologised for not respecting users' choices, and insisted that it was
"taking steps to make sure we don?t make a mistake like this again."
"What
is there for you to do? Aside from checking your settings, we don't believe
there is anything for you to do," the statement said.
It provided
a link to a form that allows users to contact its office of data protection for
more information.
The
problems arose after Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took
effect in May 2018.
The GDPR
binds social media platforms and websites to ensuring they have user's explicit
consent to collect personal data for advertising purposes or on behalf of
third-party enterprises.
It also
obliges companies that have been a victim of personal data loss to alert
competent authorities in the country where their European headquarters are
located, in this case Ireland, within 48 hours of their discovery, and the
people affected as soon as possible.
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