How private is a private message?
If it's Twitter's version, called a direct message, not very private at all, according to a lawsuit filed this week in federal court in San Francisco.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, a group of plaintiffs led by a man named Wilford Raney alleges that Twitter "intercepts, reads, and, at times, even alters the message."
"We believe these claims are meritless and we intend to fight them," a Twitter spokesperson told USA Today in a statement.
"What Twitter is doing is probably not legally actionable any more than Gmail scanning emails for advertising," University of Washington law professor Ryan Calo advised the publication, noting a similar, unsuccessful suit brought against Google in 2013.
The Verge reports the plaintiffs are seeking for the case to become a class action lawsuit, pending approval.
