On Saturday, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman initiated an inquiry into a business that marketed millions of counterfeit followers across social networks, some of which replicated private details belonging to actual individuals.
The enterprise, Devumi, was exposed in a New York Times report published earlier that day for providing automated followers to a broad range of clients, including celebrities, athletes, journalists, and politicians. Although Devumi operates from Florida, its website claims a New York City address.
A Times analysis found that at least 55,000 of these automated accounts incorporated names, profile pictures, hometowns, and other identifying information harvested from Twitter users. The individuals whose data was misappropriated lived in every U.S. state—including New York—and in dozens of other nations.
“Impersonation and deception violate New York law,” Mr. Schneiderman stated on Twitter. “We are opening an investigation into Devumi and its apparent sale of bots that use stolen identities.”
This probe marks the latest in a string of federal and state investigations targeting the commercial and political misuse of fake accounts on social media. Tens of millions of such accounts have been employed to defraud companies, sway online political conversations, and attract paying customers.
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Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have faced sharp criticism for failing to take stronger measures to eliminate these fraudulent accounts. Many of the accounts identified by The Times appear to breach Twitter’s own rules, yet they remained active on the service for years, repeatedly retweeting and promoting Devumi’s customers.
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