In the News
Twitter is improving its reporting process for leaked personal information. In Twitter will let users be much more specific when reporting tweets with personal information, Chaim Gartenberg at The Verge discusses the new reporting categories for Twitter’s crackdown on tweets containing personal data. Gartenberg details that Twitter users are now able to report tweets containing excessive personal information under more extensive classification categories including financial information, physical location, and ID information. However, Gartenberg states that Twitter has still yet to provide detailed information on the internal process of user information once a Tweet is reported.
Our Take
Twitter’s increased options for reporting personal data exposures on their platform is a positive step for the social media giant. With the amount of personal information provided on the platform daily, there is bound to be unauthorized exposure of personal information through tweets as well. With the new reporting classification options, users will be able to play a more active role in creating awareness for data exposure as well as playing a proactive measure in reducing the damage that such exposure can cause. Although additional information is necessary regarding what occurs after a tweet is reported, the additional classification options for reporting a tweet are forward progress for users to play a positive role in regulating privacy on social media platforms. At the very least, these options will allow users to be more cognizant of the reality of personal information exposure on social media and may persuade users to be more cautious with what they share online.
Recommendations
How can you protect your personal data from exposure?
- Understand the risks of putting your personal information into the world, and only share what you have to
- Periodically check your applications for updates
- Utilize additional security/privacy measures and settings on apps, accounts, and platforms whenever possible
- Refrain from choosing passwords that contain a simple word or phrase–create strong passwords and change them periodically – the longer the better.