People who supplied contact details to protect a Twitter account were not necessarily choosing to help advertisers find them. That distinction sits at the center of the Federal Trade Commission’s May 25, 2022, allegations. The agency said more than 140 million users provided phone numbers or email addresses from 2014 to 2019 after being told the information would help secure their accounts. [ftc]

According to the FTC complaint, Twitter also used those details to match people with information advertisers already held or obtained from data brokers. The alleged failure was not simply collecting a phone number: it was failing to disclose the advertising use. A reader trying to understand the case should keep the reason for handing over information separate from what the company allegedly did next. [ftc]

The proposed order addressed that choice directly. The FTC said it would allow authentication apps or security keys that do not require a telephone number, and require notification about the advertising use and privacy controls. These measures would offer a route to account protection without supplying that particular identifier; they were proposed remedies, not evidence that users had already received them. [ftc]

The Justice Department described an agreement for a $150 million civil penalty and compliance measures, subject to federal court approval. It also specified notices to U.S. customers who joined before September 17, 2019. For users, the practical question was therefore broader than the payment: what information and security choices would actually reach them? The two agencies described the same enforcement action, not separate investigations confirming each other. [doj][ftc]

Source documents

  1. FTC Charges Twitter with Deceptively Using Account Security Data to Sell Targeted Adshttps://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/05/ftc-charges-twitter-deceptively-using-account-security-data-sell-targeted-ads
  2. Twitter Agrees with DOJ and FTC to Pay $150 Million Civil Penalty and to Implement Comprehensive Compliance Program to Resolve Alleged Data Privacy Violationshttps://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/twitter-agrees-doj-and-ftc-pay-150-million-civil-penalty-and-implement-comprehensive