FTC: Social media companies using 'vast surveillance' on users

(NewsNation) —  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in a report tech companies are engaging in “extensive surveillance” of their customers, including sharing personal data with AI-driven systems.

Brands including TikTok, YouTube, Amazon and others have access to information such as users’ relationship status, income, what they like to buy and health conditions. That information is then sold to third parties — including AI-driven tools — and used for targeted ads and other forms of digital marketing.

What is the FTC report about?

In December 2020, the FTC ordered companies like Amazon, Facebook and YouTube to provide data about how they collect and use personal information.

“The tech industry’s monetization of personal data has created a market for commercial surveillance, especially via social media and video streaming services, with inadequate guardrails to protect consumers,” the report read, in part.

It also said companies track what users read, the websites they visit, whether they’re married and have children, their education level, income bracket, location, purchasing habits, personal interests, and — in some cases — health conditions and faith.

“Data is sort of the new oil, as they like to say,” Max Anderson, chief growth officer at 360 Privacy, told NewsNation. “That information then gets compiled and it’s valuable to a lot of companies that are trying to sell you things.”

It’s a fact most people are aware of, but the lengths to which companies will go have some people worried.

What’s being done to curb user privacy violations?

According to the FTC report, the current status quo is unacceptable and allows platforms to continue collecting personal information unchecked.

Some companies also partner with outside data collection firms to learn what people do offline, Anderson said.  

“Say that you log into the app, you have location services that are enabled and you go to Starbucks to get a cup of coffee — everybody now knows that you go to Starbucks and you’re going to start getting targeted ads on your social media feeds for Starbucks,” Anderson said. “And, it’s not just Starbucks. It’s not just one social media app. It’s sort of all of them working together.”

As far as solutions, the report urged Congress to pass federal privacy legislation to safeguard users and called on companies to self-regulate their use of AI and internal algorithms to stop companies from violating user privacy.

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