The top US data protection authority has accused Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, of not having adequate parental controls in place.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also said Meta should be banned from monetizing children’s data.
“The company’s recklessness has put young users at risk and Facebook must answer for its mistakes,” it said.
Meta hit back, calling the regulator’s move a “political stunt” and accusing them of exceeding their powers.
The FTC said an independent investigation found “several loopholes and weaknesses in Facebook’s privacy program” that posed “significant risks to the public.”
It has been established that users under the age of 13 are still allowed to participate in chats with contacts who have not been verified by their parents.
The regulator also said Meta continued to grant third-party apps access to private information after promising to block access if users hadn’t used the apps in the past 90 days.
The FTC has proposed a number of actions, including:
- A blanket ban on the monetization of data from children and young people under the age of 18
- A pause in launching new products until it could be verified that they were fully compliant with data protection regulations
- Limitations on Future Applications of Face Recognition Technology. Meta would be required to disclose and obtain user consent for future uses of facial recognition technology.
In response, Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the move was a “political stunt.”
He said Meta will be singled out “while allowing Chinese companies like TikTok to operate on American soil without restrictions.”
He also accused Lina Khan, chair of the FTC, of angering the American economy.
The FTC’s case began in 2018 after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica had stolen the personal information of tens of millions of Facebook users.
The regulator has tried to limit some of Big Tech’s powers. However, companies like Meta believe they are being treated unfairly.
“Despite three years of continuous cooperation with the FTC in relation to our agreement, they have not offered an opportunity to discuss this new, completely unprecedented theory,” said Mr. Stone.
However, the FTC believes Meta has “repeatedly violated its privacy promises” and is calling for tougher action to protect younger users.
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