Meta Platforms Inc. has repeatedly violated its privacy promises to federal regulators, the Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday, opening an administrative case seeking to bar the social media company from launching new products without an independent privacy review.
Meta, the parent company of the Facebook platform, has been under an FTC order for more than a decade. It paid a record $5 billion fine in 2019 for privacy violations, entering into a new settlement that increased the responsibility of the company’s board to protect user data.
In a filing opening the administrative proceeding Wednesday, the FTC said Meta has continued to violate the law by allowing third-party developers to access user data and misrepresenting to parents the level of control over kids’ communications in its Messenger Kids app.
"Facebook has repeatedly violated its privacy promises,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. "The company’s recklessness has put young users at risk, and Facebook needs to answer for its failures.”
The FTC is seeking modifications to the earlier settlement that would ban Meta from using facial recognition tools or monetizing children’s data. The order would apply to all of Meta’s products - its main Facebook social media platform, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Oculus.
The administrative proceeding will take place before the FTC’s three members, all Democrats - Chair Lina Khan, Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya.
They’ll review the evidence and issue a decision. Meta will have an opportunity to respond to the allegations and can appeal the FTC’s ruling to a federal appeals court.
