FTC wants to prevent Meta from monetizing children's data

FTC Seeks to Ban Meta From Monetizing Data of Kids Under 18; Company Slams Move as ‘Political Stunt’ (Image credit- Meta)

For using children's data to make money on its platform, Meta was charged by the Federal Trade Commission with breaking a number of kid privacy rules. This misleads parents about how well children are protected on the platform, which is why the FTC suggests banning Meta. After identifying many holes and flaws in Facebook's privacy program that violate the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, the Federal Trade Commission sent Meta recommended restrictions. According to the reports, one of the limitations prevents Meta from making money off the information it gathers from users who are younger than 18. With this proposal, the FTC will have sued the company three times for violating users' privacy. According to the FTC, Facebook has misled parents about the degree of control they have over who their children interacted with on the platform. The agency claims that Meta misled users about how much access app developers have to their personal information. Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection Samuel Levine: "Facebook has consistently broken its privacy commitments. Young users are now at risk due to the company's carelessness, and Facebook must take responsibility. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="730"] Image credit- TechCrunch[/caption] In addition to Facebook, the proposed limits cover worries about how other social media platforms like Instagram, which created a kids' version for users under 13, but public outcry forced the firm to abandon the idea in 2021. The FTC also wants to prevent the introduction of new goods and services that make use of face recognition technology without first receiving the approval of an impartial privacy assessor. All of Meta's assets, including Facebook, Instagram, Oculus, and WhatsApp, would be covered by this. Meta's Reaction Andy Stone, a spokesperson for Meta, responded to the FTC's plan by calling it a political gimmick because the agency did nothing to stop Chinese firms like TikTok. According to the reports, Meta accused the agency of aiming to usurp Congress's jurisdiction by establishing guidelines that would have a significant impact on a variety of industries. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Image credit- Yahoo[/caption] According to the terms of our FTC agreement, we invested a significant amount of resources into developing and implementing an industry-leading privacy program. We anticipate winning this battle and will fight this lawsuit vehemently," Stone continued. Albvaro Bedoya, an FTC commissioner who voted to advance the motion, questions the FTC's ability to change its orders in this manner. According to The Verge, Bedoya is eager to hear more details and justifications in order to approach these challenges with an open mind. Also read: In an effort to shield Musk and Twitter from an FTC inquiry, House Republicans The FTC's effort to improve Meta's privacy and security procedures doesn't end with stopping its activities. In order to move on with the vote on whether to change or adapt the proposed restrictions, the company was requested to react to its findings and proposal within 30 days.