Twitter controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
2022
Dispute over Elon Musk's acquisition agreement
Musk attempted to withdraw from the agreed acquisition, citing concerns including the prevalence of automated and spam accounts. Twitter sued to enforce the agreement, and the matter ended when Musk completed the purchase in October 2022.
2019
Twitter apologizes over use of two-factor authentication data for advertising
Company response
Twitter acknowledged that two-factor authentication data may have been inadvertently used for advertising, particularly through its Tailored Audiences program. Twitter apologized and said the issue had been fixed; it also said no personal data was shared externally with partners or third parties.
Company response
Apology — Twitter
Twitter apologizes for using users' 2FA details to serve ads
Remediation — Twitter
Twitter said the issue has been fixed
Source excerpt
Twitter apologizes for using users' 2FA details to serve ads
In an official blog post, Twitter said that the 2FA data may have been inadvertently used for advertising purposes, particularly its Tailored Audiences program that allows advertisers to target ads to customers based on their marketing lists.
There is no clarity on how many people were impacted by this 'error', but Twitter said the issue has been fixed and that no personal data was shared externally with its partners or third parties.
2019
Twitter apologizes for trending a hashtag targeting Trump
Company response
In 2019, Twitter apologized after a hashtag translating to “Die Trump” briefly trended in Turkey. The company stated that the hashtag should not have appeared in its trends and that it had prevented the trend from appearing. The incident was reported as a controversy involving the platform's trending topics.
Company response
Apology — Twitter
This phrase should not have appeared in trends, and we're sorry for this mistake,
Remediation — Twitter
we have now done so with this trend.
Source excerpt
Twitter has apologized for briefly allowing a hashtag that translates to 'Die Trump' to trend in Turkey.
This phrase should not have appeared in trends, and we're sorry for this mistake,
At times, we do prevent certain content from trending and we have now done so with this trend.
2019
Twitter disclosed security contact information had been used for advertising
Issue disclosure
Twitter said email addresses and phone numbers users had uploaded for security purposes may have been used internally for targeted advertising. The company said the issue was rectified as of September 17 and that it no longer used such information for advertising; it apologized.
Company response
Apology — Twitter
"This was an error and we apologise," the company said in a blog post.
Remediation — Twitter
The social media giant said the issue was rectified as of September 17, without disclosing how many users were affected.
Source excerpt
The company said the information was not shared with third parties but was made available internally to allow users to receive targeted advertising.
The social media giant said the issue was rectified as of September 17, without disclosing how many users were affected.
Twitter said on Tuesday that email addresses and phone numbers uploaded by users to meet its security requirements may have been "inadvertently" used for advertising purposes.
2019
Twitter apologizes for allowing “Die Trump” to trend in Turkey
Company response
Twitter apologized for briefly allowing the phrase “Mahvolursun Trump,” roughly translated as “Die Trump,” to trend in Turkey, and said it had stopped the trend.
Company response
Apology — Twitter
Twitter apologized on Monday for briefly allowing the phrase “Mahvolursun Trump,” which roughly translates as “Die Trump” to trend in Turkey.
Remediation — Twitter
At times, we do prevent certain content from trending and we have now done so with this trend
Source excerpt
Twitter apologized on Monday for briefly allowing the phrase “Mahvolursun Trump,” which roughly translates as “Die Trump” to trend in Turkey.
At times, we do prevent certain content from trending and we have now done so with this trend
'This phrase should not have appeared in trends, and we're sorry for this mistake,' a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement to DailyMail.com.
2019
Twitter launches reporting for abusive Lists
Twitter introduced a reporting feature for abusive use of its Lists feature, initially available on iOS, with support for Android and the web planned for later. The feature allows users to report a List as abusive or harmful. The launch was reported on November 18, 2019.
Twitter launched a reporting feature for abusive use of Twitter Lists, initially on iOS; support for Android and the web was planned for later. The feature lets users report a List as abusive or harmful.
Stated objective. Address abusive use of Twitter Lists.
Source excerpt
Today, Twitter is taking a step to address that problem with the launch of a new reporting feature that specifically addresses the abusive use of Twitter Lists.
Twitter Lists have been abused for years, as they became another way to target and harass people — particularly women and other minority groups.
2019
Twitter faces backlash over Sanjay Hegde account suspensions
Public backlash
Twitter faced public backlash after suspending Supreme Court lawyer Sanjay Hegde's account twice in one week. The suspensions prompted calls to boycott Twitter and demands to restore the account.
Source excerpt
The suspension of Hedge's account, twice in one week, resulted in a massive backlash against the social media giant.
On Wednesday morning, several social media users gave a call to boycott Twitter for 24 hours to mark their protest against the suspension.
Twitter deemed the photograph unfit and suspended Hegde's account.
2019
Federal court dismissed Adrian Rangel's lawsuit against Twitter
Ruling
A federal court dismissed a lawsuit brought by Adrian Rangel against Twitter. Rangel had sought $1 billion from the company over the suspension of his account. According to the report, the account was no longer suspended, and the lawsuit had already been dismissed.
A federal court dismissed Adrian Rangel's lawsuit seeking $1 billion from Twitter over the suspension of his account. The article reports that the account was no longer suspended and that the lawsuit had already been dismissed.
Source excerpt
Rangel’s Twitter account is no longer suspended and it’s not because he emerged victorious from this lawsuit. It has already been tossed by the federal court.
Rangel’s short-lived lawsuit [PDF] asked for $1 billion in damages for his brief suspension
2019
Facebook reports third-party SDK data-access incident
Issue disclosure
Facebook said security researchers reported that the One Audience and Mobiburn SDKs had been integrated into certain apps, enabling third-party developers to access personal data. Facebook said it removed apps that violated its policies, banned the two actors, and planned to notify affected users.
Company response
Investigation — Facebook
经过调查，我们将违反平台政策的应用从我们的平台删除，并向One Audience和Mobiburn发出禁止令。
Personnel action — Facebook
经过调查，我们将违反平台政策的应用从我们的平台删除，并向One Audience和Mobiburn发出禁止令。
Ongoing disclosure — Facebook
对于授权这些应用访问自己个人资料，从而导致信息可能泄露的用户，我们计划发出通知。
Source excerpt
Facebook和Twitter收到来自安全研究人员的报告称，他们发现名为One Audience的软件开发工具包允许第三方开发者访问个人数据，包括使用Twitter帐户登录Giant Square和Photofy等应用的用户电子邮件地址、用户名和最近发布的Twitter消息。
Facebook发言人就周一的事件发表了以下声明：“安全研究人员最近通知我们，有两个恶意行为者，分别是One Audience和Mobiburn。他们向开发者付费，让他们在热门应用商店的某些应用中集成恶意的软件开发工具包。经过调查，我们将违反平台政策的应用从我们的平台删除，并向One Audience和Mobiburn发出禁止令。对于授权这些应用访问自己个人资料，从而导致信息可能泄露的用户，我们计划发出通知。