Twitter this week announced the launch of a privacy center whose goal is to provide increased transparency on how the social platform handles user information.
The new Twitter Privacy Center will provide details on all of the initiatives Twitter has tailored toward privacy and data protection, as well as related announcements, new privacy products, and security incidents.
Overall, the Center should make it easier for users to learn what data the company collects on them, how it’s used, and the control people have over that data, the social platform says.
According to Twitter, protecting people’s right to privacy and data protection has been a focus since the very beginning, but the work in this direction is mainly done behind the scenes.
Part of this work, the company says, involves fixing technical debt, as there still are older systems in use, with new features and services built on top of them, and in some cases those systems were never intended to support current uses.
Tackling technical debt is good for the privacy and safety of users, but also for business, as it allows Twitter to deliver better products and services to people faster. One of the results of this effort was the disclosure of more data and security related incidents over the past two years.
“We have been working to make sure our systems meet your expectations, and when they don’t or when we have found issues that may require your attention to keep you safe and secure, we have told you about them. We’ll continue to do this when something requires your attention,” Twitter says.
The social platform also reveals that it is focused on building privacy into its products, which includes creating processes to review launched products with the aid of information security, product and privacy counsel teams, and the company’s independent Office of Data Protection.
The company says it’s training all of its employees on data privacy, security, and management, and it has also launched an internal group to cultivate the best practices for everyone at the company. Moreover, it has been seeking feedback from users worldwide on their view of privacy.
On top of all that, the company says it is keeping itself accountable to the people who trust it with their data, and that it has taken steps to weave accountability into how it operates, including by providing quarterly assessments to the board of directors.
Twitter will continue to invest in its Data Management Organization to account for the gathered data, how it is used, and when it is shared, and says it will make privacy and data protection the central piece of its 2020 priority to build products trusted by users.
“Also, launching the Twitter Privacy Center provides a central place to keep you updated on our privacy and data protection work and aid us in being accountable to you through transparency,” the company added.
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