Social media apps monitor children and teens and use the collected data to make billions of dollars every year.
At the same time, they do virtually nothing to protect their young users from harmful content.
This is one of the conclusions published in a new report by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), BleepingComputer finds.
Freedom of expression
Apparently, in 2020, the FTC began investigating the largest social media platforms out there: Twitch, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, Discord, Reddit, and WhatsApp. The investigation analyzed, among other things, how these companies collected data, how they tracked personal and demographic information, and how the practice affected minors.
While data collection and monetization is nothing new, especially for social media companies, the FTC was particularly concerned about how these companies were managing their younger audiences. FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said, “The failure of multiple companies to adequately protect children and teens online is particularly troubling.”
One of the ways these companies tried to hide the problem was by saying there were no children on the platforms, the report states. Apparently, many companies said there were no children because the services were not targeted to children. The FTC believes this was a way to avoid complying with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Instead, these companies treated teens the same as adults.
For Graeme Stewart, head of public sector at Check Point Software, one of the biggest problems is that social media companies are resisting legislation that could restrict teenagers’ use of their platforms.
“Several governments around the world are stepping in to address this,” he said, adding that “social media companies are resisting, essentially arguing that they are just providing a platform and should not be held responsible for inappropriate content posted on it. They are also lobbying governments, framing their arguments around freedom of expression.”
The best parental control apps can help limit kids’ access to social media.
Via BleepingComputer
