Regulators in the EU have a close eye on Twitter after users complained about the app's ignorant behavior.
The company has been blasted by users for failing to solve their matters linked to the deletion of direct messages. Therefore, regulators have opted to step in and take notice of the many concerns linked to the privacy and security of such DMs that aren’t supported by end-to-end subscriptions.
The major concerns continue to increase since Elon Musk took charge last year in October. He fired those looking after such departments and had the skill to solve matters such as this. Now, we’re witnessing so many changes but a failure to glance over what’s important.
So many people are worried about the safety of their privacy on the platform. Moreover, there’s a huge question mark regarding how and if the company has what it takes to delete data after a long list of allegations being thrown it's way by a leading whistleblower.
Media outlet TechCrunch was the first to speak on the matter. They received so many complaints from different users across the board about how they were failing to complete the requests for DM deletion.
Moreover, talks were taking place with the firm’s department for data protection which is routinely assessing the impacts of such behavior and any types of changes arising in the world of online services.
The DPC is now going public with how they are receiving so many complaints from users on this front and now, a direct dialogue would be held with Twitter to bring about a solution at the nearest date.
Similarly, TechCrunch learned how Twitter is actually giving out users a unique solution comprising information regarding existing options that would deactivate their accounts. And in the end, what they get is generic details regarding this aspect.
One email was sent out by a user that ended up deleting DMs written by the firm. He stated that account deactivation would be done at any point in time. And once that is completed, you can get rid of personal details showing as names and public profiles. It’s like restricting your access and preventing it from showing across the website and respective apps.
Similarly, the company says that the deactivation of user accounts is not permeant and may be reversed as necessary within a timespan of one month. And in cases where it’s done by mistake, some search engines and third-party groups may still have copies linked to a user’s public information, despite them deleting it.
In the end, the email also set forward a link that entailed more data about how accounts could be deactivated. But at the same time, no mention of direct DM deletion was stated and that’s worrying for many.
So what users are actually talking about is how Twitter is saying no to legal requests set out by the EU for the deletion of their personal details. The GDPR is the EU law that ensures citizens have the right to request for all of their data to be deleted, when and if they feel is necessary.
This is a right that has been granted to them from day one in regard to their DMs but the way Twitter is behaving, it has cast a lot of doubts in people’s minds about what is really going on.
Remember how DMs seen on Twitter are private and not set out in public settings. Therefore, they’re not protected by E2E encryption so all content gets accessed by Twitter. Similarly, the platform provides no function to remove message data that are sent out through its servers.
Hence, when a user does delete any DM on Twitter, the company’s Help Center claims it’s just deleted from the user’s account and not the account through which the conversation was taking place. At the end of the day, all data stays with Twitter’s servers and can be manipulated by the staff members.
Let’s not forget how such issues have been in place for a while now. The only difference now is that it is getting flared up and users are being left feeling frustrated with no form of response. And when compounded with the likes of disinformation trending on the app, this is not good for the app.
Read next: Mastodon Has Started Losing Users After December Peak
The company has been blasted by users for failing to solve their matters linked to the deletion of direct messages. Therefore, regulators have opted to step in and take notice of the many concerns linked to the privacy and security of such DMs that aren’t supported by end-to-end subscriptions.
The major concerns continue to increase since Elon Musk took charge last year in October. He fired those looking after such departments and had the skill to solve matters such as this. Now, we’re witnessing so many changes but a failure to glance over what’s important.
So many people are worried about the safety of their privacy on the platform. Moreover, there’s a huge question mark regarding how and if the company has what it takes to delete data after a long list of allegations being thrown it's way by a leading whistleblower.
Media outlet TechCrunch was the first to speak on the matter. They received so many complaints from different users across the board about how they were failing to complete the requests for DM deletion.
Moreover, talks were taking place with the firm’s department for data protection which is routinely assessing the impacts of such behavior and any types of changes arising in the world of online services.
The DPC is now going public with how they are receiving so many complaints from users on this front and now, a direct dialogue would be held with Twitter to bring about a solution at the nearest date.
Similarly, TechCrunch learned how Twitter is actually giving out users a unique solution comprising information regarding existing options that would deactivate their accounts. And in the end, what they get is generic details regarding this aspect.
One email was sent out by a user that ended up deleting DMs written by the firm. He stated that account deactivation would be done at any point in time. And once that is completed, you can get rid of personal details showing as names and public profiles. It’s like restricting your access and preventing it from showing across the website and respective apps.
Similarly, the company says that the deactivation of user accounts is not permeant and may be reversed as necessary within a timespan of one month. And in cases where it’s done by mistake, some search engines and third-party groups may still have copies linked to a user’s public information, despite them deleting it.
In the end, the email also set forward a link that entailed more data about how accounts could be deactivated. But at the same time, no mention of direct DM deletion was stated and that’s worrying for many.
So what users are actually talking about is how Twitter is saying no to legal requests set out by the EU for the deletion of their personal details. The GDPR is the EU law that ensures citizens have the right to request for all of their data to be deleted, when and if they feel is necessary.
This is a right that has been granted to them from day one in regard to their DMs but the way Twitter is behaving, it has cast a lot of doubts in people’s minds about what is really going on.
Remember how DMs seen on Twitter are private and not set out in public settings. Therefore, they’re not protected by E2E encryption so all content gets accessed by Twitter. Similarly, the platform provides no function to remove message data that are sent out through its servers.
Hence, when a user does delete any DM on Twitter, the company’s Help Center claims it’s just deleted from the user’s account and not the account through which the conversation was taking place. At the end of the day, all data stays with Twitter’s servers and can be manipulated by the staff members.
Let’s not forget how such issues have been in place for a while now. The only difference now is that it is getting flared up and users are being left feeling frustrated with no form of response. And when compounded with the likes of disinformation trending on the app, this is not good for the app.
Read next: Mastodon Has Started Losing Users After December Peak
