The Federal Trade Commission accused Meta, parent of Facebook of a $5 billion privacy settlement landmark. Based on the allegation, Meta has improperly shared user data with third parties. Therefore, Meta failed to protect children as the firm had promised. In the bidding 2020 settlement with Meta, it has been the FTC’s long-running battle with the social media company. The firm has made multiple lawsuits in order to prevent Meta from leveraging.
The FTC urges that Meta is monetizing data the company collects from younger users. Thus, Meta should be banned. In addition, the company should not release any new features or products until a third-party auditor determines it. Thus, they can make sure the company’s privacy policies could really protect users. Then, the FTC also calls for new limitations on how Meta uses facial recognition technology.
If all the FTC gets approvals, Meta’s business and its future would face a great threat. Plus, they might have issues with virtual reality expansion. Andy Stone, Meta spokesman said in the statement that the FTC proposal is a political stunt. Thus, he vowed to combat the effort with $5 billion. Stone added that FTC does not provide Meta any opportunity to discuss the issues. He believes that Lina Khan, FTC Chair insistence is baseless. Thus, they only antagonize American business.
So far the FTC proposal comes at all levels of government, blaming that social media has been a threat to mental health crisis esp for young people. The platform, apparently, could use users’ personal information when they are under 18. They even target the users for automated recommendations and engagements.
