FTC Proposes Placing Tougher Restrictions on Facebook Collection of Data on Minors

FTC filed proposed modifications to an Order requiring Facebook to implement an "effective privacy program" regarding the collection of data on users under the age of 18.

The Order, issued in 2020, was the result of the DOJ and FTC’s findings that Facebook engaged in deceptive business practices by failing to abide by a 2012 Settlement Order requiring it to give notice to customers before sharing information with third parties. (See prior coverage.) FTC's proposed modification is based on an independent assessor's finding that Facebook failed to comply with the 2020 Order and violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule by (i) not removing app developers’ access to a user’s data if the user had not opened that app within 90 days and (ii) continuing to allow children to communicate using "Messenger Kids" on Facebook’s platform, with contacts that were not approved by their parents.

FTC’s proposed modifications would, among other things:

• only allow Facebook to collect information on users under the age of 18 for purposes of (i) providing a service, such as maintaining the user’s Instagram feed and (ii) security, such as detecting potentially fraudulent accounts;
• prohibit Facebook from monetizing any information collected or to use the information for Facebook’s own commercial gain; and
• restrict the release of any "new or modified product, service, or feature" until Facebook can show through written confirmation from a third-party assessor that its privacy program is in full compliance with the 2020 Order and without any material gaps.