FTC kicks off sweeping privacy probe of nine major social media firms

guest · Dec 14, 2020

FTC kicks off sweeping privacy probe of nine major social media firms
Consumer privacy has fallen into the FTC's purview, so it's digging deep
December 14, 2020
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...ivacy-probe-of-nine-major-social-media-firms/

The Federal Trade Commission is stepping up its digital privacy work and has asked just about every major social media platform you can think of to explain what personal data it collects from users and why.

The requests for information went out today to nine platforms (or their parent companies, where applicable), including Discord, Facebook, Reddit, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitch, Twitter, WhatsApp, and YouTube, according to the press release.
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The companies that receive the orders have 45 days to explain to the FTC:

How social media and video streaming services collect, use, track, estimate, or derive personal and demographic information

How they determine which ads and other content are shown to consumers

Whether they apply algorithms or data analytics to personal information

How they measure, promote, and research user engagement

How their practices affect children and teens

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A sample order (PDF) shows the depth and specificity of the information the FTC is requesting from each firm, including extremely granular data about monthly and daily active users, business and advertising strategies, and potential plans for acquisitions or divestments.
In other words, among other things the FTC wants to know: do you give advertisers their money back if you don't actually target the groups they're trying to reach?
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FTC: FTC Issues Orders to Nine Social Media and Video Streaming Services Seeking Data About How They Collect, Use, and Present Information

The Federal Trade Commission is issuing orders to nine social media and video streaming companies, requiring them to provide data on how they collect, use, and present personal information, their advertising and user engagement practices, and how their practices affect children and teens.

The FTC is issuing the orders under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act, which authorizes the Commission to conduct wide-ranging studies that do not have a specific law enforcement purpose. The orders are being sent to Amazon.com, Inc., ByteDance Ltd., which operates the short video service TikTok, Discord Inc., Facebook, Inc., Reddit, Inc., Snap Inc., Twitter, Inc., WhatsApp Inc., and YouTube LLC. The companies will have 45 days from the date they received the order to respond.
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