A recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff report has uncovered extensive surveillance practices by social media and video streaming companies, with a particular focus on children and teens.
The report revealed that these platforms have been collecting and monetizing vast amounts of personal data, raising significant concerns about privacy protections and data security.
The FTC’s investigation began in December 2020, targeting major tech companies like Amazon (Twitch), Meta (Facebook and WhatsApp), YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, Discord, Reddit, and X Corp. (formerly Twitter). The probe aimed to understand how these companies collected, tracked, and monetized users’ personal and demographic data, especially from minors, during 2019 and 2020.
FTC Chair Lina M. Khan emphasized the seriousness of the findings, pointing out that companies have been profiting from billions of dollars by collecting personal data. “While lucrative for the companies, these surveillance practices can endanger people’s privacy, threaten their freedoms, and expose them to a host of harms, from identity theft to stalking,” Khan said. She also highlighted the failure of many platforms to protect children and teens, which is particularly alarming.
The report reveals that these platforms not only collect extensive data but also retain it indefinitely, often sharing it with third parties without sufficient oversight. In many cases, users’ data was not deleted even after deletion requests were made. The companies’ reliance on targeted advertising, which drives most of their revenue, directly conflicts with protecting users’ privacy.
Another key finding of the report is the lack of adequate safeguards for minors. Some companies claimed they had no children using their platforms to avoid complying with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). However, the FTC found that teens were generally treated the same as adults, with minimal protections.
The FTC is calling for immediate action, urging Congress to pass comprehensive privacy legislation. This includes stricter limits on data collection, better transparency, and enhanced protections for teens and children. The report highlights the need for companies to go beyond COPPA and implement stronger safety measures to safeguard young users’ privacy online.
