Twitter will pay a $150 million fine and implement new measures to settle charges by federal regulators that the social media corporation provided advertisers with unauthorized access to users' personal information.

On Wednesday, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission announced the settlement with Twitter.

According to a complaint filed on Wednesday, from May 2013 until September 2019, Twitter allegedly informed users that it was collecting their phone numbers and email addresses for account security. According to the agencies, the business failed to disclose that it would also use the information to enable companies to send tailored internet advertisements to customers.

In the complaint, the DOJ and FTC also asserted that Twitter falsely claimed that it complied with US privacy accords with the European Union and Switzerland, which restrict corporations from processing user information for purposes inconsistent with those permitted by users.

According to the regulators, the settlement will resolve accusations that Twitter violated the FTC Act and a 2011 FTC order by misrepresenting users about the privacy and security of their nonpublic contact information.

The $150 million fine and the new compliance procedures stipulated by the settlement must be approved by a California federal court.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has proposed a $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, throwing the company into chaos.

In April, Musk secured an agreement to acquire Twitter for $54.20 per share. However, the CEO of Tesla stated weeks later that the acquisition could not move through until the platform demonstrated that less than 5% of its users were false or spam accounts.

Since then, Twitter management has confirmed that they want to proceed with the transaction. If Musk leaves Tesla, he could be responsible for a $1 billion breakup fee.