Popular social media platforms and video streaming services pose serious risks to user privacy, with children and teenagers most at risk, the Federal Trade Commission found in a report published Thursday. The report, which stretches more than 100 pages, details the data, advertising and recommendation-system efforts by these companies, and how they rely on information about users to sell ads.
The FTC initially ordered Amazon, Facebook and WhatsApp , Twitter , ByteDance, YouTube, Reddit, Snap and Discord to provide data about how the companies collect and use personal information from their users in December 2020. The report examined 13 platforms owned by the companies, including Twitch, Facebook, Messenger, Kids Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, X, TikTok, YouTube, YouTube Kids, Snapchat, Reddit and Discord.