Agency homing in on social media companies’ data collection

By MARCY GORDON - AP Business Writer
Posted:
Agency Homing In On Social Media Companies’ Data Collection
This Feb. 25, 2020, file photo shows the icon for TikTok in New York. The social media app shared its list of top 100 videos, creators and trends in America in 2020. In action announced Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, federal regulators are ordering Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, TikTok’s parent and five other social media companies to provide detailed information on how they collect and use consumers’ personal data and how their practices affect children and teens (STF).

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators are ordering Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, TikTok’s parent and five other social media companies to provide detailed information on how they collect and use consumers’ personal data and how their practices affect children and teens. The Federal Trade Commission’s action announced Monday goes to the heart of the tech industry’s lucrative business model: harvesting data from platform users and making it available to advertisers so they can pinpoint specific consumers to target. The agency plans to use the information, due in 45 days, for a comprehensive study. The other five companies are Reddit, Snap, Discord, WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, and Google’s YouTube.

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