FTC proposes ban on Meta profiting off children’s private data
Christopher Hutton
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The Federal Trade Commission proposed new sanctions that would clamp down on Facebook parent Meta’s use of younger users’ data for profit.
The agency said Wednesday that a third-party review of Meta’s privacy program, which Meta had agreed to as part of a 2020 settlement over privacy violations, found that the company had violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which prevents websites from collecting the private information of users 13 years old or younger. The company also violated a 2012 FTC order that barred third-party app developers from being given access to the data of minors, the FTC said.
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“Facebook has repeatedly violated its privacy promises,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. “The company’s recklessness has put young users at risk, and Facebook needs to answer for its failures.”
The proposed sanctions would prohibit the company from profiting from any data it collects about users 18 or younger. It would also be subject to several expanded limitations, including additional limitations on the use of facial recognition software and the creation of additional protection for users.
Meta has 30 days to respond.
“This is a political stunt,” Meta spokesman Andy Stone said on Twitter. “Despite three years of continual engagement with the FTC around our agreement, they provided no opportunity to discuss this new, totally unprecedented theory.” Stone accused the FTC of trying to “usurp the authority of Congress” and “single out” Meta while allowing TikTok to run wild. The company intends to fight the sanctions in court.
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This is the third sanction filed by the FTC against Meta. Facebook first received a 2012 order barring it from misrepresenting its privacy practices. It also received an order in 2019 alleging a security breach of the 2012 order. The company paid a $5 billion settlement in 2020.
The FTC sued Meta in December to block its acquisition of Within, a virtual reality developer. The lawsuit was denied by a California court, and the agency declined to try and appeal it.