The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that several social media and streaming services have been collecting more personal data than they had declared. These unauthorized activities included information about consumers, even minors, without proper disclosure. Nine companies, including Meta Platforms, YouTube, and TikTok, are under investigation for potentially mishandling user data. While offering mostly free services, these platforms profit by collecting detailed user information for targeted advertising.
The FTC emphasized that these companies often fail to protect users adequately, particularly children and teenagers. Chair Lina Khan noted that such “surveillance practices threaten people’s privacy and freedoms, exposing them to risks from identity theft to stalking.”
FTC’s Investigation and Findings
The investigation began in December 2020 to study the “opaque business practices” of leading online platforms, including 13 major platforms operated by nine companies. These include popular services like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Twitch, Discord, Snapchat, Reddit, and X. The FTC found that these companies collected information about age, gender, language, education, income, and marital status, often combining it into detailed dossiers for advertisers. Many users were not given a real choice to refuse data collection, and information was stored longer than specified in user agreements.
The FTC also discovered that platforms allowed users under 13 despite rules prohibiting their presencem adds NIX Solutions. Moreover, many apps collected data on teenagers in the same way as adults, and some companies struggled to explain the full extent of the data they gathered.
The Need for Greater Oversight
FTC Chair Lina Khan highlighted the urgency of creating new regulations to protect user privacy. In recent years, attempts to strengthen control over social media’s impact on younger users’ mental health have seen limited success. However, the FTC’s findings underscore the necessity for more federal oversight and restrictions on how companies use personal data. In 2022, some companies, such as Epic Games and the social network X (formerly Twitter), were fined for violating privacy laws related to minors and targeted advertising.
We’ll keep you updated on any further developments as the FTC continues its efforts to address these privacy concerns.