The Federal Trade Commission is issuing orders to nine social media and video streaming companies, requiring them to provide data on how they collect, use, and present personal information, their advertising and user engagement practices, and how their practices affect children and teens. The orders concern Amazon.com, ByteDance, which operates the short video service TikTok, Discord, Facebook, Reddit, Snap, Twitter, WhatsApp, and YouTube. The companies have 45 days to respond.
The FTC said the orders are part of its powers to conduct wide-ranging studies that do not have a specific law enforcement purpose. The regulator is seeking information specifically on how social media and video streaming services collect, use, track, estimate, or derive personal and demographic information; how they determine which ads and other content are shown to consumers; whether they apply algorithms or data analytics to personal information; how they measure, promote, and research user engagement; and how their practices affect children and teens.
