Twitter Sees $150 Million-$250 Million Hit From FTC Data Security Complaint

August 3, 2020 4:12pm

Twitter said Monday that it expects to take a $150 million-$250 million loss related to an FTC complaint on its data securities practices.

The social media giant, which was hit by a major hack last month, said in an SEC filing that it received a draft complaint from the Federal Trade Commission on July 28 alleging violations of its 2011 consent order with the commission. The allegations related to Twitter’s use of phone number and email address data provided for targeted advertising between 2013-19.

The Jack Dorsey-led company said it recorded an accrual of $150 million to cover the probable loss, which — however — could be as high as $250 million. The accrual is included in “accrued and other current liabilities” in Twitter’s consolidated balance sheet and under “general and administrative expenses” in its consolidated statements of operations.

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“The matter remains unresolved, and there can be no assurance as to the timing or the terms of any final outcome,” the filing said.

Twitter noted in the quarterly filling that as of June 30 it had $7.77 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments in marketable securities.