FCC Commissioner Carr Calls for FTC Probe of Crisis Text Line

Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr called publicly for the Federal Trade Commission to open an investigation into the nonprofit Crisis Text Line (CTL) over the suicide hotline’s former data-sharing practices with for-profit spinoff Loris.ai. In a letter sent to FTC Chair Lina Khan and Samuel Levine, the FTC’s head of consumer protection, Carr urged the commission “to investigate CTL’s prior and current data practices.” Carr said that includes how the nonprofit collects, retains and shares data collected from its text and online messaging conversations with users struggling through mental health crises, as well as the manner in which it obtains consent from those users. Crisis Tech Line’s data-sharing relationship with Loris.ai was first reported by POLITICO in January 2022, and the company announced it had ended that relationship three days later. A Crisis Text Line spokesperson said March 28 that the nonprofit “voluntarily engaged in good faith with Commissioner Carr’s office on multiple occasions in an effort to address his questions,” and said the group’s privacy practices are “fully disclosed” and comply with the law. A spokesperson for Loris.ai declined to respond.