The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has published a staff report accusing major social media and online video companies of conducting 'vast surveillance' on users. The report, released on Thursday, examined the data practices of nine tech firms, including Meta, Google, TikTok, and Twitter/X, between January 2019 and December 2020.
The FTC found that these companies collect extensive personal information both on and off their platforms, sharing it with a wide range of third parties. The report states that most firms' business models incentivise tracking user engagement, collecting data, and using it to tailor content and advertisements. FTC Chair Lina Khan said that efforts to regulate data collection will conflict with these companies' primary business incentives, and that policymakers must ensure violating the law is not more lucrative than abiding by it.
The report highlights that consumers have little control over how their data is used. Many companies collected demographic information such as age, gender, and income, and some inferred sensitive details like parental or marital status from user behaviour. Nearly all firms fed personal data into automated systems for content and ad targeting, yet almost none offered a comprehensive opt-out for data use by algorithms or AI.
Several companies admitted they could not provide a full list of third parties with whom they share data. The FTC also criticised the firms for not treating data from minors differently, despite evidence that children and teens use their platforms. None of the companies reported different data-sharing practices for users under 13 or for 13- to 17-year-olds compared to adults.
The FTC described the companies' data-minimisation practices as 'woefully inadequate', noting that some did not delete data even when users requested it. The agency is recommending that Congress pass federal privacy regulations and that the companies invest in limiting data retention and sharing, restricting targeted advertising, and strengthening protections for teens.
