Twitter a Privacy Twit
Twitter has agreed that it is not exactly God's gift to privacy and told the Federal Trade Commission it will do better. Apparently Twitter led users to believe their privacy was protected far more than it actually was. The key problem is it's far too easy for hackers to gain administrative control of user accounts.
As part of the settlement Twitter "will be barred for 20 years from misleading consumers about the extent to which it maintains and protects the security, privacy and confidentiality of nonpublic consumer information." I guess after that, Twitter can go back to its old tricks.
I'm not sure how Twitter's admission went, but it could have sounded something like this: "Ftc we prmise 2 du bettr & r sory, reely reely sory."
By the way, if you're interested in the topic of tech companies and privacy, be sure to read our July 2010 cover feature, "What Does Microsoft Know About You?," available online here.
Posted by Doug Barney on 06/30/2010 at 1:17 PM