Class action suit seeks damages from Twitter over claimed direct-message privacy violations
Twitter Inc. is violating federal and state privacy statutes by intercepting messages that it bills as “private” and inserting new (and shortened) URLs for hyperlinks, a federal lawsuit says.
Filed Monday in San Francisco, it seeks class action status concerning a massive group of individuals who have sent or received such Twitter messages, described by the social media company as private “direct message” transmissions, the Hollywood Reporter explains.
“Contrary to Twitter’s representations, direct messages are not private,” says lead plaintiff Wilford Raney in the complaint (PDF). “Instead, Twitter intercepts and reads the contents of each direct message while the message is in transit (i.e., immediately after it is sent but before it is received). Moreover, Twitter actively monitors direct messages for hyperlinks that can supplement its link service. But while Twitter reads, monitors and, at times, alters direct messages, Twitter never obtains its users’ consent to do so.”
Users might well not object to the shortened hyperlinks in and of themselves, but they help Twitter obtain detailed profiles on users that can be monetized, the suit says. They are also profitable to Twitter because they demonstrate to potential advertisers the social media site’s impact on Internet traffic.
The complaint seeks a declaratory judgment that Twitter is violating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the California Invasion of Privacy Act, actual damages, disgorgement of profits and statutory damages, among other relief.
According to the lawsuit, financial penalties for violating these statutes include potential damages of $100 per day per class member, under the federal law, and $5,000 per class member under the state law.
Twitter declined to comment when contacted by the Hollywood Reporter.
