Twitter Settles With FTC Over Data Security Lapses

Twitter has settled charges with federal regulators that it put the privacy of its users at risk by failing to protect them from data security lapses last year that let hackers access their accounts.

The Federal Trade Commission announced the settlement Thursday.

It bars Twitter from misleading consumers about its security and privacy practices. Twitter must establish and maintain a comprehensive information security program.

There were no monetary damages assessed.

The FTC says the breaches allowed hackers to gain administrative control over the online service, whose users send brief messages called tweets to each other. The FTC says hackers got access to user messages, reset user passwords and sent phony tweets from user accounts.