FTC report reveals social media apps are exactly as bad for privacy as you think they are

19 Sep 2024, 19:25 by Karandeep Singh Oberoi · Android Police

Key Takeaways

A new FTC report highlights how social media and video streaming giants harvest 'vast' amounts of user data to fuel a multi-billion dollar targeted advertising industry.
Some companies fail to honor data-deletion requests from users, leaving personal data lingering.
Platforms lack protection for children and teens online, with the FTC now calling for stronger legislation and enforceable data minimization policies.

The internet, services available online, social media apps, video streaming platforms, and other online services of sorts have become an undeniable part of our daily lives. With the convenience of this constant connection also comes a dark byproduct.

Giants like Meta and Google have long-been scrutinized for their data collection practices, and now a new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report hits the claim home, adding that major social media and video streaming services engage in "vast surveillance of consumers in order to monetize their personal information while failing to adequately protect users online, especially children and teens."

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According to the agency, the report is based on responses collected in 2020, when the commission sought information on how Amazon (for Twitch), Meta, YouTube, X (Twitter), Snapchat, ByteDance (for TikTok), Discord, Reddit, and WhatsApp collect and use user data. Additionally, the order in 2020 also required the mentioned platforms and social media companies to share information on how they determine which ads are shown to consumers, whether the companies apply algorithms or data analytics to personal information, how they measure, promote, and research user engagement, and if their practices affect children and teens.

The FTC is now reporting on its findings, suggesting that the information it collected from the social media and video content giants paints a picture of extreme user surveillance and "enormous" data harvesting.

Source: FTC

Social media and video streaming companies harvest an enormous amount of Americans’ personal data and monetize it to the tune of billions of dollars a year.

A key highlight from the report indicates that the named companies could collect vast amounts of data from brokers about users and non-users of their platforms, and could often retain it indefinitely. It also highlights how many companies "engage in broad data sharing" with data handling controls and practices being referred to as "woefully inadequate." The data is then used to fuel the multi-billion dollar targeted advertising industry.

Another particularly alarming revelation suggests that some of the mentioned companies failed to honor data-deletion requests from users, leaving their data lingering in company databases.

Elsewhere, the report also highlights how social media giants and streaming platforms fail to protect children and teens on their sites. The platforms assert that they have no child users, considering how everyone needs to provide their age when they join said platforms — but we know how easy it is for users to bypass those restrictions.

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The report and its revelations call for action from policymakers and companies. For policymakers, this means passing legislation to limit surveillance. For companies, concrete and enforceable data minimization and retention policies are to be implemented.