Why deleting something from the internet is 'almost impossible'

Most people may live out their digital lives with the assumption they can delete their posts, messages and personal data from services whenever they choose. But a tech hearing this week threw that core assumption into question.

Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, the former security chief at Twitter, told a Senate committee on Tuesday that the social network does not reliably delete the data of users who cancel their accounts, expanding on bombshell allegations he made in a whistleblower disclosure first reported by CNN and The Washington Post last month.

In his testimony and whistleblower disclosure, Zatko alleged Twitter does not reliably delete users' data, in some cases because it has lost track of the information. Twitter has broadly defended itself against Zatko's allegations, saying his disclosure paints a "false narrative" of the company. In response to questions from CNN, Twitter has previously said it has workflows in place to "begin a deletion process" but has not said whether it typically completes that process.