Social media apps are surveilling children and teenagers, and using the data gathered to earn billions of dollars every year.

At the same time, they’re doing close to nothing to protect their young users from harmful content.

This is one of the conclusions published in a new staff report from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), BleepingComputer finds.

Free speech

Apparently, back in 2020, the FTC started probing into the biggest social media platforms out there: Twitch, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat, TIkTok, Discord, Reddit, and WhatsApp. The probe analyzed, among other things, how these companies collected data, how they tracked personal information, demographic information, and how the practice affected minors.

While data harvesting and monetization is nothing new, especially with social media companies, the FTC was particularly worried about the way these firms managed their younger audience. FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said "several firms' failure to adequately protect kids and teens online is especially troubling."

One of the ways these companies tried to bury the problem is by saying there were no children on the platforms, the report argues. Apparently, many companies said since the services were not directed to children, there were no children present. The FTC believes this was a way to avoid complying with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Instead, these firms were treating teens the same as adults.

For Graeme Stewart, head of public sector at Check Point Software, one of the biggest problems is social media companies pushing back against any legislation that might limit teens’ use of their platforms.

“Various governments around the world are stepping in to address this,” he said, adding that “social media companies push back, essentially arguing that they’re just providing a platform and shouldn’t be held accountable for inappropriate content posted on it. They also lobby governments, framing their arguments around free speech.”

The best parental control apps can help restrict access children's access to social media.

Via BleepingComputer

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