The Facebook and Instagram parent company, Meta, is accused by the US Federal Trade Commission of failing to protect the privacy of juvenile users and is seeking a restriction on the firm’s use of children’s data for commercial purposes.Â
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has accused Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, of failing to put proper parental controls in place and not protecting young users’ privacy. The FTC wants to ban Meta from making money from children’s data and has proposed actions including a blanket prohibition on monetizing data of children and teens under 18 and limits on the future use of facial recognition technology. Meta has hit back, calling the regulator’s move a “political stunt” and stating that it has built an industry-leading privacy program. The case began in 2018 after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and the regulator has been looking to rein in Big Tech’s powers. Meta believes it is being unfairly treated.
