FTC orders ByteDance, Facebook, Snap and others to explain what they do with user data

“… Policymakers and the public are in the dark about what social media and video streaming services do to capture and sell users’ data and attention. It is alarming that we still know so little about companies that know so much about us.”

The FTC’s new fact-finding mission is the latest federal action to put tech in its crosshairs, following last week’s news that the agency would sue Facebook over antitrust violations. The new order was issued under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act as a study of tech industry practices. It isn’t coupled with any law enforcement action, but that doesn’t preclude the agency from pursuing enforcement options with what it finds.

Last year the FTC signaled a deeper interest in tech, particularly on antitrust issues. The agency launched a purpose-built tech task force to monitor acquisitions and other potential competition-crushing behavior that raises red flags. In early 2020, the FTC launched an extensive separate study examining nearly a decade’s worth of acquisitions made by Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft.