Twitter, which did not immediately respond to a request for
comment, has in recent days launched the service in several EU markets,
offering the kind of blue check mark previously free for verified accounts of
public figures to anyone prepared to pay. It was launched last year in the
United States.
Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon,
Twitter's lead EU regulator due to the location of its European headquarters in
Dublin, said the service raised privacy issues including around verification of
accounts to prevent users posing as public figures.
"We're a little bit more concerned this week now that
we see that the blue tick subscription service is rolling out here in EU
countries having been reassured that it wasn't going to roll out in the EU and
certainly not before there have been discussions with our office," Dixon
said in an interview.
While no formal inquiry has been launched "we're at a
heightened state of contact with Twitter," she said, describing
consultation prior to a product launch as "best practice."
Dixon in November expressed concern about the impact of
steep job cuts on Twitter's ability to meet privacy obligations following
billionaire Musk's takeover the previous month.
Twitter now has a "very strong" data protection
officer, she said.
"But beyond the data protection office, there are
clearly other forces at play. And we need to understand a little bit more about
those," Dixon added. © Reuters