The Federal Trade Commission reveals that social media users are suffering Widespread monitoring

Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States released a shocking research report revealing that multiple social media and streaming services engage in "mass surveillance" of users, including minors. This discovery not only reveals a serious breach of user privacy, but also raises widespread concerns among the public about the data collection behavior of tech giants.

According to the FTC report, several well-known social media and streaming platforms, such as Meta (which owns Facebook, Instagram, etc.), YouTube, TikTok, Discord, etc., have been accused of conducting large-scale user data collection and sharing. These platforms not only collect users' basic information such as age, gender, language, but also involve more private personal information such as educational background, income status, and marital status. What is even more concerning is that these companies often purchase information from non platform users through data brokers, further expanding the scope of their data collection.

The FTC's research indicates that most users are unaware of the extent to which this data is collected, and the platform has not provided a simple and clear option to opt out of data collection. In addition, these companies retain sensitive information for much longer periods of time than consumers expect, posing significant privacy risks to users. FTC Chairman Lina Khan emphasized in a statement that "surveillance behavior may endanger people's privacy, threaten their freedom, and expose them to a range of harms, from identity theft to tracking

Why are these social media and streaming platforms so keen on collecting user data? The report points out that most of these platforms offer free services and profit by using user data for targeted advertising. They utilize advanced AI, algorithms, and data analysis technologies to combine collected personal information with user habits, accurately advertise, and create billions of dollars in advertising business.

However, behind this business model lies a serious infringement on user privacy. The FTC found that many companies have failed to effectively protect the privacy of users, especially children and adolescents. Despite many platforms claiming to restrict access for users under the age of 13, there are still a large number of children active on these platforms and subject to the same data collection practices as adults. In addition, teenagers are also considered adults in many applications and face the same data collection risks as adults.

The report also points out that the self-regulation efforts of tech giants have not been effective. Although these companies claim to have strengthened their data collection policies, FTC research has found that many companies still cannot clearly disclose how much data they have collected or provide sufficient data protection measures. The FTC therefore concluded that "self-regulation was a failure

In the face of this severe situation, the FTC calls on the US federal government to enact stricter privacy legislation to restrict the way companies collect and use data. FTC Chairman Lena Khan stated, "Protecting user privacy requires a clear legal framework and enforceable rights." She emphasized that legislation should give consumers more control over how their data is collected and used.

Faced with the FTC's accusations, some social media companies have expressed different opinions. A spokesperson for Google, the parent company of YouTube, stated that the company has the strictest privacy policy in the industry and never sells user personal information or uses sensitive information to advertise. At the same time, the company also prohibits personalized advertising settings for users under the age of 18. However, these statements have not fully addressed the issues that exist in their data collection and usage processes.

Other companies such as Discord have also expressed similar views, believing that the FTC report conflates different types of companies. However, the FTC insists that its research is comprehensive and in-depth, and points out common issues with data collection and use by these companies.

The research report by the Federal Trade Commission undoubtedly sounded the alarm for the public. While enjoying the convenience brought by social media and streaming services, we must also be aware that our privacy is facing unprecedented threats. Only through stricter legal supervision and self-restraint of enterprises can their privacy be effectively protected. I hope that in the future, more policies and measures can be introduced to make technology truly serve humanity, rather than becoming a tool for privacy infringement.