Social media, streaming sites spy on users, fail to protect data: FTC

Social media companies collect, share and process vast troves of information about their users while offering little transparency or control, including over how it is used by systems incorporating artificial intelligence, the US Federal Trade Commission said in a report released on Thursday.

The report analysed how Meta Platforms, ByteDance's TikTok, Amazon's gaming platform Twitch, and others manage user data, concluding that data management and retention policies at many of the companies were "woefully inadequate."

YouTube, social media platform X, Snap, Discord and Reddit were also included in the FTC report, though its findings were anonymised and did not reveal specific companies' practices. YouTube is owned by Alphabet's Google.

An X spokesperson said the report is based on practices from 2020 when the site was known as Twitter, now X.

"X takes user data privacy seriously and ensures users are aware of the data they are sharing with the platform and how it is being used, while providing them with the option of limiting the data that is collected from their accounts," the spokesperson said.

Only about 1 percent of X’s current US users are between ages 13 and 17, the spokesperson said.

Other companies did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Surveillance endangering people's privacy

Social media companies gather data through tracking technologies used in online advertising and buying information from data brokers, and other means, the FTC said.

"While lucrative for the companies, 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.

Data privacy, particularly for kids and teens, has been a hot-button issue. The US House of Representatives is considering bills passed by the Senate in July aimed at addressing social media's effects on younger users. And Meta recently rolled out teen accounts that incorporate enhanced parental controls.

Meanwhile, Big Tech companies have been scrambling to acquire sources of data to train their emerging artificial-intelligence technologies.

The data deals are infrequently disclosed and often involve private content locked behind paywalls and login screens, with scant or no notice to the users who posted it.

Gathering personal information

In addition to collecting data, most of the companies the FTC reviewed collected users' age and gender or guessed it based on other information. Some also gathered information on users' income, education and family status, the FTC said.

Advertising industry groups criticised the report on Thursday, saying that consumers recognise the value of ad-supported services.

"We are disappointed with the FTC's continued characterisation of the digital advertising industry as engaged in 'mass commercial surveillance," said David Cohen, chief executive of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, an advertising and marketing group which counts Snapchat, TikTok and Amazon among its members.