I tried making a new account two or three months ago. Twitter sent me a verification email, which I confirmed, but they immediately requested phone verification

I tried making a new account two or three months ago. Twitter sent me a verification email, which I confirmed, but they immediately requested phone verification as well - even though I had never been able to use the account in any way. I refused and never opened an account because of that. The sceptic in me thinks this is more about advertising and less about security.