- An FTC report has accused social media companies of vast user surveillance.
- The report found that major social media platforms are collecting excessive amounts of user data and not doing enough to protect privacy, especially for children.
- The report raises grave concerns about the potential risks to user privacy and safety due to inadequate data protection measures and surveillance practices.
Big tech is watching, and we’ve probably known that in our hearts all along. There’s been enough and more evidence of social media companies mining user data and having inadequate policies around how that data is used. Now, a new staff report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has accused major social media and video streaming companies of spying on users to the extreme.
The report takes into account data gathering and usage practices from companies like Meta, YouTube, X Corp (formerly Twitter), ByteDance (TikTok), Amazon (owns Twitch), Snap Inc (Snapchat), Discord, Reddit, and WhatsApp. It found that all these platforms are collecting massive amounts of user data and not doing enough to protect user privacy, especially for kids and teens.