FTC Orders Amazon, YouTube, Discord, and 6 More to Explain What They're Doing With Your Data
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The Federal Trade Commission on Monday announced it was issuing orders to nine of the most popular social media and streaming platforms in the U.S., requiring them to offer up intel on business practices ranging from data collection to advertising, to the way that user engagement gets tracked overtime.
The orders issued to Amazon, Discord, Facebook, Reddit, Snap, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, and TikTok parent company Bytedance, aren't intended for any specific regulatory action. Rather, the inquiries are meant to be part of a wide-ranging study examining how each of these companies treats consumer privacy.
As Axios, which first reported news of the FTC probe, points out, just because this initiative lacks a specific goal doesn't mean it is inconsequential. These types of inquiries, specifically known as 6(b) orders, have been used in the past to gather data that can be used in later investigations.
Additional coverage at ArsTechnica
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