Facebook misled parents about its child protection policies
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accused Meta - Facebook's parent company - of misleading parents about its policies to protect their children on the platform, and proposed banning the company from making money based on data from minors.
Specifically, the FTC said Facebook misled parents about the extent of control over who contacted their children through the Messenger Kids app, as well as concealed the app developer's true level of access to users' personal data, violating a 2019 privacy agreement.
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In a statement, the social media giant called the FTC's ruling "political," as the agency took no action against "Chinese companies like TikTok." |
The agency has proposed banning Facebook from monetizing data collected from users under 18, including in its virtual reality business. The company also faces expanded restrictions on facial recognition technology.
Meta, which also owns Instagram, uses targeted digital ads based on personal user data to generate more than 98% of its revenue.
Despite being the world's largest social media platform, Facebook is competing with short video app TikTok to attract young users.
The FTC's latest move is the first step in changing the 2019 agreement. Facebook has 30 days to respond and has the right to appeal to the appeals court.
Debra Williamson of Insider Intelligence said the FTC's statement was important for Meta's child protection obligations, but the impact on "revenues may not be too large."
According to Williamson, about 5.2% of monthly Facebook users in the US are under 18, compared with 12.6% of Instagram users.
In 2019, the social network agreed to pay a $5 billion fine to resolve FTC allegations dating back to 2012 regarding violations related to users' control of personal data.
Meanwhile, in 2020, the FTC asked a federal court to order Facebook to sell Instagram and WhatsApp, which it acquired for $1 billion in 2012 and $19 billion in 2014, respectively. The case is still ongoing.
