In recent news, Twitter has ordered an audit from software giant Microsoft over allegations that it has misused Twitter data. Concerns regarding compliance with their agreement and potential consequences for the use of Twitter data in AI systems are at the heart of the claims against Microsoft, which center on the company’s extraction of data from Twitter’s database of tweets for various purposes.
The complaint that Twitter has against Microsoft
Elon Musk’s attorney Alex Spiro has written an open letter detailing the company’s alleged violations of its agreement with Twitter. The terms “excessive or abusive usage” and “reasonable request volume” are the main points of discussion. Notably, in 2022 alone, Microsoft has retrieved almost 26 billion tweets, with no explanation for such a large amount.
Written assertions
In addition to the data volume problem, the letter also brings up other issues. According to the report, six out of eight Microsoft programs that accessed the Twitter database did so without informing Twitter of the apps’ planned use of the data. This lack of disclosure is in direct opposition to the terms of the agreement between the two firms. The petition also claims that at least one Microsoft program illegally provided Twitter data to virtual locales that mentioned government bodies or agencies.
Microsoft’s reaction and plans moving forward
In response to the letter, Microsoft’s official spokesman Frank Shaw said the corporation would consider the questions and concerns highlighted. The statement, however, omitted particulars about the claims. Without mentioning Twitter by name, Shaw underscored Microsoft’s dedication to the long-term cooperation with the social media site.