Apparently Twitter Will Be Allowed To Mislead Consumers In 20 Years (But Not Before)
from the odd-terms dept
Twitter recently settled a complaint from the FTC concerning some of its security practices. That story, by itself, isn't all that interesting: basically Twitter had some problems when it was growing, the FTC slapped them down, and the company is now promising to be more careful , going forward. Nothing too out of the ordinary. However, ChurchHatesTucker points out one odd aspect to the settlement:"Under the terms of the settlement, Twitter will be barred for 20 years from misleading consumers about the extent to which it protects the security, privacy, and confidentiality of nonpublic consumer information, including the measures it takes to prevent unauthorized access to nonpublic information and honor the privacy choices made by consumers."From that quote, it certainly sounds like Twitter will actually be allowed to mislead consumers about the extent to which it protects the security, privacy and confidentiality of nonpublic consumer information after those 20 years are up. I mean, why even put such a term on something like this?
In the meantime, it seems worth pointing out the contrast here, where the FTC (part of the Obama administration) is slapping down Twitter for revealing nonpublic consumer information... at the very same time that the very same administration has demanded all sorts of nonpublic consumer information about Twitter users. Mixed messages much?
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Filed Under: mislead, settlements
Companies: ftc, twitter
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Such is life....
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Fixed.
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Experiencing Technical Difficulties
Let me tell you, internet fads run fast.
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How the hell do we get this clause placed on Facebook?
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20 years?
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why?
I barely make comments like this to begin with...
and I don't feel sorry for people who puts their life online and then complaint when others misuse those information...
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a score
Such long term penalties are meaningless when things move at the speed of the internet.
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Legal?
If the term expires in 20 years, it provides an avenue to review the terms of the settlement, and amend the same. basically, it allows for the terms to be reviewed in 20 years time. Something that I would think is necessary.
Although I don't know why that wouldn't just be put in there explicitly. Hmm maybe I am wrong...
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online
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