Earlier this week, Federal regulators announced that Twitter would pay a $150 million fine due to breaches of user privacy.

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According to the federal lawsuit, between May 2013 and September 2019, Twitter collected private information like phone numbers and email addresses to target advertising after telling users the information would only be used for security purposes.

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“The $150 million penalty reflects the seriousness of the allegations against Twitter, and the substantial new compliance measures to be imposed as a result of today’s proposed settlement will help prevent further misleading tactics that threaten users’ privacy,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a release.

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Billionaire Elon Musk, who is acquiring the company for $44 billion, has been a long-time criticiser of the social media platform’s ad-driven business model and promises to diversify its revenue sources.

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"If Twitter was not truthful here, what else is not true? This is very concerning news," Musk tweeted in response to the news.

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In addition to the $150 million penalty, a new proposed agreement between Twitter and the FTC bars the company from profiting off what the FTC described as "deceptively collected data" and to allow for additional user authentication methods, such as multi-factor authentication apps.

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