Twitter is the subject of a European privacy investigation after personal data of some 5.4 million users of the social media platform was leaked. The company acquired by Elon Musk may not have complied with data protection rules in the European Union, reports The Irish privacy regulator Data Protection Commission (DPC).
The data breach the DPC is now investigating dates back to the period before Musk took over at Twitter. Because of the data that ended up on the street, it is now possible to link phone numbers or Email addresses to usernames on Twitter. The fact that Ireland is conducting the research has to do with the fact that the European headquarters of the American tech company is located in Dublin.
From Brussels, immediately after Musk’s takeover of Twitter, words of warning sounded about the laws applicable in the European Union for large internet companies were heard. In addition to the protection of users ‘ personal data, it is also about the fight against hate speech on social media and transparency about the algorithms used. There are fears that too few staff have been left for this after Musk fired roughly half of all Twitter employees.