*ISLAMABAD – Twitter on Tuesday apologized after “inadvertently” usingphone numbers and email addresses for advertising even though the personaldata was provided for account security.*
Twitter users’ phone numbers and email addresses — submitted to allow foraccount authentication — were matched with advertisers’ own data to enabletargeted ads.
“When you provided an email address or phone number for safety or securitypurposes this data may have inadvertently been used for advertisingpurposes,” Twitter said in an online post.
“This was an error and we apologize.”
None of the user data was shared with partners outside the company, and itwas unclear how many people were affected, the San Francisco-based companysaid.
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The issue was fixed in mid-September, Twitter said.
“We’re very sorry this happened and are taking steps to make sure we don’tmake a mistake like this again,” Twitter said.
Privacy and internet data are hot political topics worldwide, with techgiants such as Twitter and Facebook in the crosshairs of regulators.-APP/AFP
