The US Federal Trade Commission published a report on Thursday highlighting the extensive data collection and sharing practices of social media companies, revealing a lack of transparency regarding user information management, particularly in relation to artificial intelligence systems.
The report examined the data handling policies of Meta Platforms, TikTok (owned by ByteDance), Amazon’s gaming service Twitch, among others. It concluded that many of these companies exhibit “woefully inadequate” practices in managing and retaining user data.
Additional platforms such as YouTube—part of Alphabet’s Google—X (formerly Twitter), Snap, Discord, and Reddit were also mentioned in the report. However, specific findings related to individual companies were not disclosed in detail.
Discord responded to the report by stating that it amalgamates significantly different business models into a single category, emphasizing that it was not engaged in advertising at the time the report was produced.
Representatives from X pointed out that the report primarily reflects practices from 2020, asserting that improvements have been made since rebranding from Twitter. The spokesperson stressed that X prioritizes user data privacy, informing users about the data they share and allowing them to limit further collection.
According to X, only about 1 percent of its current U.S. user base comprises individuals between the ages of 13 and 17.
No immediate comments were received from the other companies mentioned in the report.
The FTC noted that social media platforms employ various tracking technologies for online advertising, often acquiring data from brokers and other sources.
FTC Chair Lina Khan commented on the situation, stating, “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.”
Concerns about data privacy, especially for children and teens, have gained significant attention. The US House of Representatives is currently reviewing bipartisan bills that aim to mitigate the negative impacts of social media on younger audiences. In a related move, Meta has introduced enhanced parental controls for teen accounts.
Meanwhile, major tech firms are racing to gather data to improve their artificial intelligence technologies. These data transactions are often kept under wraps and may involve private user content behind paywalls, frequently without adequate notification to the original posters.
In addition to tracking user engagement, many companies analyzed by the FTC also collected demographic information such as users’ age, gender, income levels, education, and family dynamics. Some firms even tracked individuals who were not direct users of their services and showed gaps in their data collection and usage transparency.
The advertising industry responded critically to the report, asserting that consumers are aware of the value provided by ad-supported services. David Cohen, CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau—a group representing many major players, including Snapchat, TikTok, and Amazon—voiced disappointment at the FTC’s continued framing of the digital advertising landscape as one of “mass commercial surveillance.”
© Thomson Reuters 2024
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