…says Facebook,Insagram owner ignoring proper parental ccontrols
The top US data privacy regulator has accused Meta, the firm that owns Facebook and Instagram, of not putting proper parental controls in place.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the US also said Meta should be banned from making money from children’s data.
“The company’s recklessness has put young users at risk, and Facebook needs to answer for its failures,” it said.
Meta hit back, calling the regulator’s move a “political stunt” and accusing it of overstepping its authority.
The FTC said an independent investigation had found “several gaps and weaknesses in Facebook’s privacy program” that posed “substantial risks to the public”.
Users aged under 13 were found to be still allowed to engage in chats with contacts not vetted by parents.
The regulator also said Meta continued to give third-party apps access to private information after promising to cut off access if users failed to use the apps in the previous 90 days.
The FTC has proposed a series of actions, including:
A blanket prohibition against monetising data of children and teens under 18
A pause on the launch of new products until it could be established they were in full compliance with privacy rules
Limits on future uses of facial recognition technology. Meta would be required to disclose and obtain users’ affirmative consent for any future uses of facial recognition technology.
In response, Meta’s spokesperson, Andy Stone, said the move was a “political stunt”.
