The FTC staff report examined data practices of nine major social media and video streaming companies and found they engaged in vast surveillance of users with lax privacy controls and inadequate safeguards for children and teens. The report recommends limiting data collection, restricting targeted advertising, and strengthening protections for young users, and calls for comprehensive federal privacy legislation.
In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements with major social media/video streaming platforms, customer agreements for services integrating these platforms' APIs or SDKs, and data processing addendums. Focus on clauses defining data collection scope, consent mechanisms (especially for minors under COPPA and teens), third-party data sharing permissions, data retention periods, and security safeguards. Recommended changes include: implementing data minimization principles; requiring verifiable parental consent for children's data and enhanced consent options for teens; adding explicit opt-out mechanisms for ad targeting; limiting retention to what is necessary; strengthening default privacy settings for younger users; and ensuring contractual obligations align with COPPA and emerging youth protection standards.
Entity
Major Social Media and Video Streaming Companies (Amazon, Meta, YouTube, X, Snap, TikTok, Discord, Reddit, WhatsApp)
Also known as: Major Social Media and Video Streaming Companies
Industry
Social MediaOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/09/ftc-staff-report-finds-large-social-media-video-streaming-companies-have-engaged-vast-surveillance
look behind scenes examining data practices social media vid
https://www.ftc.gov/reports/look-behind-scenes-examining-data-practices-social-media-video-streaming-services
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"nine companies including some of the largest social media and video streaming services: Amazon.com, Inc., which owns the gaming platform Twitch; Facebook, Inc. (now Meta Platforms, Inc.); YouTube LLC; Twitter, Inc. (now X Corp.); Snap Inc.; ByteDance Ltd., which owns the video-sharing platform TikTok; Discord Inc.; Reddit, Inc.; and WhatsApp Inc."
"Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule"
"engaged in vast surveillance of consumers in order to monetize their personal information while failing to adequately protect users online, especially children and teens."
The FTC filed a complaint alleging that GovAssist LLC, Entry LLC, and Scott Zuckerman used deceptive paid search ads, misleading service and pricing claims, and fake reviews to deceive consumers seeking passport services. The complaint alleges violations of the FTC Act, the Impersonation Rule, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act; the case will be decided by the court, and no penalty or remedy is reported as imposed.
The FTC issued its annual report to Congress describing fraud trends affecting older adults and the agency’s enforcement, education, and outreach efforts. The report is not a specific privacy enforcement action and announces no penalty or remedy.
The FTC referred a complaint against REPS & Company Inc. and company executives, alleging they bypassed ticket-issuer security controls and purchasing limits to acquire millions of tickets for resale. The complaint was filed by the Department of Justice, and the case will be decided by the court; the press release does not report a penalty or other remedy imposed.
$106.8M
A federal court entered a $106.8 million default judgment against corporate defendants in an alleged debt-relief scheme that impersonated banks and government entities and targeted seniors and veterans. The judgment permanently bans the defendants from the debt-relief industry and imposes additional prohibitions, including on impersonation, telemarketing, and misrepresentations.
The FTC sued Digital Forensics Corporation LLC and affiliated defendants, alleging they misled sextortion victims with promises of investigative and monitoring services that often were not provided, and used fake positive reviews. A federal court granted the FTC’s request to temporarily halt the defendants’ activities; the complaint remains for the court to decide.
The FTC alleged that Greenway Auto Group advertised vehicle prices thousands of dollars below the amounts consumers actually paid and used mailers falsely suggesting recipients had won cash prizes. Greenway agreed to an order requiring transparent pricing and prohibiting deceptive prize mailers and other misrepresentations; the press release does not state a monetary penalty.