Lawyers in California have filed a class action lawsuit against Twitter alleging that the social network reads private messages sent between users.
Specifically, the lawsuit complains Twitter “surreptitiously eavesdrops on its users’ private direct message communications. As soon as a user sends a direct message, Twitter intercepts, reads and, at times, even alters the message.”
The lawsuit focuses on how Twitter handles hyperlinks in direct messages. Twitter is accused of scanning links and replacing them with its own URL shortener, “thereby sending the person clicking on the link to Twitter’s analytics servers before passing them on to the original linked-to web site.”
The move allegedly benefits Twitter by giving it data it can share with advertisers. The lawsuit is seeking class action status and wants as much as $100 per violation per day/user
. Twitter didn’t comment on the filings.
