FILE - This photo shows the Facebook's Messenger Kids application on an iPhone in New York, Feb. 16, 2018. U.S. regulators say Facebook misled parents and failed to protect the privacy of children using its Messenger Kids app. The Federal Trade Commission says Facebook misrepresented the access it provided to app developers to private user data. As a result, the FTC on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 proposed sweeping changes to a 2020 privacy order with Facebook — now called Meta — that would prohibit it from profiting from data it collects on users under 18. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, file)
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The Big Story
FTC alleges Meta violated privacy order
Meta faces new proposed restrictions on how it uses data from minors based on allegations that the company violated childrens’ online privacy rules over how it represented capabilities of a kids’ messaging app.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleged Wednesday that, between 2017-2019, Meta misrepresented that children using the Messenger Kids app would only be able to communicate with contacts approved by their parents, in a way that violated a previous order issued by the FTC, the FTC Act and COPPA, or the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
Although the company said children would only be able to communicate with contacts approved by their parents, there were circumstances in which children were able to communicate with unapproved contacts in group text chats and group video calls, the FTC alleged.
“Facebook has repeatedly violated its privacy promises,” FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Samuel Levine said in a statement. “The company’s recklessness has put young users at risk, and Facebook needs to answer for its failures.”
Meta responded in a statement by calling the move “a political stunt.”
“This is a political stunt. Despite three years of continual engagement with the FTC around our agreement, they provided no opportunity to discuss this new, totally unprecedented theory,” the company said in a statement. “Let’s be clear about what the FTC is trying to do: usurp the authority of Congress to set industry-wide standards and instead single out one American company while allowing Chinese companies, like Tik Tok, to operate without constraint on American soil.”
Microsoft chief economist Michael Schwarz on Wednesday warned the potential risk of “bad actors” using artificial intelligence (AI) should be more concerning than the possible loss of human jobs to the rapidly emerging tech. “I’m quite confident that, yes, AI will be used by bad actors. And yes, it will cause real damage,” Schwarz said at an event hosted by the Word Economic Forum, adding, “And yes, we have …
In a policy reversal, Twitter will allow verified government accounts and ones that are publicly owned to send automated tweets about weather alerts, transport updates and emergency notifications on the platform. The social media platform faced sharp criticism from public service accounts for its planned policy to charge for programmed tweets, which would affect accounts that use automated programs to disseminate information. …
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Lina Khan pledged for the agency to be vigilant in monitoring “unfair or deceptive” uses of artificial intelligence (AI) as the technology is increasingly deployed across critical sectors. In an op-ed published in The New York Times on Wednesday, Khan said it is crucial for the FTC to monitor the risks to ensure “the hard-learned history” of the rise of Web 2.0 doesn’t repeat itself …
The increase in profit comes as the tech giant announced layoffs, canceled products and stopped the expansion of stores, CNN reported.
Dominican reporter targeted with Israeli spyware
A new report by Amnesty International discovered that spyware developed by Israeli firm NSO Group was used to target an investigative journalist from the Dominican Republic, the Guardian reported.
On Our Radar
Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on worldwide threats on Thursday 9:30 a.m.
In Other News
Branch out with other reads on The Hill:
Scientists warn of AI dangers but don’t agree on solutions
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Computer scientists who helped build the foundations of today’s artificial intelligence technology are warning of its dangers, but that doesn’t mean they agree on what those dangers are or how to prevent them. Humanity’s survival is threatened when “smart things …
The green hydrogen company Nel announced plans Wednesday to build a massive new plant in Michigan as it works with General Motors to drive down the cost of hydrogen. The Norwegian company makes devices that take water and split it into hydrogen and oxygen, known as electrolyzers, as well as fueling …
Fox host Maria Bartiromo is pushing back on claims made by an ex-producer on her show who alleges that she used her personal connections to former … Read more
A text message sent by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson about a video he saw of the violence that broke out during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the … Read more
