New FTC Report Highlights Privacy Risks in Social Media Data Use

In a new report from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), social media companies have been criticized for collecting and sharing vast amounts of user data with little transparency or control, particularly regarding its use by systems that incorporate artificial intelligence. The findings, released on Thursday, shed light on the growing concerns over how tech giants handle personal information, raising alarms over user privacy and security.

According to Reuters, the report examined data management practices across several major platforms, including Meta Platforms, TikTok (owned by ByteDance), and Amazon’s Twitch, among others. The FTC found that many companies’ policies on data retention and management were “woefully inadequate,” underscoring the risks to consumer privacy. Other platforms scrutinized in the report include YouTube (owned by Alphabet’s Google), X (formerly Twitter), Snap, Discord, and Reddit, although their specific practices were anonymized.

The FTC highlighted how these companies collect data through methods such as tracking technologies used in online advertising and purchasing information from data brokers. While these practices are lucrative for the platforms, they come with significant risks. “These surveillance practices can endanger people’s privacy, threaten their freedoms, and expose them to a host of harms, from identity theft to stalking,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan, per Reuters.

Related: Irish Watchdog Probes Google’s AI Data Practices

One area of heightened concern is the impact of data collection on children and teenagers, a topic that has been hotly debated in recent years. The U.S. House of Representatives is currently considering bills passed by the Senate in July that aim to address the effects of social media on younger users. In response, some companies, like Meta, have introduced new parental controls and privacy features for teen accounts.

At the same time, major tech companies are in a race to secure data to train their rapidly advancing artificial intelligence technologies. According to Reuters, many of these data deals are made behind closed doors and often involve accessing private user content hidden behind paywalls or login screens, without the knowledge or consent of those affected.

The report also revealed that many social media platforms not only track how users interact with their services but also collect demographic data, such as age, gender, income and education level, which they sometimes infer based on other information. In some cases, platforms collected data on individuals who were not even users of the service. The FTC noted that some companies could not fully account for all the ways they collected and utilized data, further compounding the privacy concerns.

As public awareness around data privacy grows, this latest report from the FTC adds to the scrutiny on social media companies, which must balance the commercial value of user data with increasing demands for transparency and accountability.

Source: Reuters