The US consumer protection authority FTC wants to impose new serious conditions on the Facebook group Meta. These concern, among other things, the data protection of users under the age of 18. Meta criticizes the plans.
Facebook group Meta is again in trouble with the US consumer protection agency Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Among other things, the FTC wants to ban Meta from releasing new products or features until an overseer approves the company’s privacy program.
The US group should also not be allowed to use data from users under the age of 18 to make money, as the FTC announced. The FTC wants to ensure that minors are better protected against data collection and exploitation.
FTC allegations: Meta violated previous data protection regulations
The FTC has accused Meta of violating previous data protection regulations. Among other things, software developers had illegal access to user data in some cases. The group also falsely claimed that the Messenger Kids chat service had parents in control of who their children communicated with.
As early as 2020, the US Consumer Protection Agency imposed further data protection requirements on Meta, which the group must comply with. At that time, the tech giant also had to pay a fine of five billion dollars.
“Political Show Action”
Meta has criticized the FTC’s plans, calling them “political showmanship”. The company has also announced that it will oppose the new requirements. A decision on whether Meta will go to court is still pending.
The US company argues that the FTC should not unilaterally change the terms of the agreement between the authority and the company, which was then approved by a court. In addition, the FTC refers to problems from years ago, according to Meta.
According to Meta, Messenger Kids, designed for children, had a software error. As a result, children could not only communicate with friends approved by their parents, but also with their friends. The company would have notified the FTC and those affected of the error in 2019.
Democrats decide
The currently three FTC members will decide on the proposals that Meta can comment on in the process. Meta can then go to court.
All three are Democrats from US President Joe Biden’s party. A Republican had resigned in protest at FTC chief Lina Khan’s course.