A Look Behind the Screens: Examining the Data Practices of Social Media and Video Streaming Services

In December 2020, the Federal Trade Commission issued 6 Orders to nine of the largest social media and video streaming services—Amazon, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Snap, ByteDance, Discord, Reddit, and WhatsApp. At the time, a bipartisan group of Commissioners issued a joint statement warning that far too much about how these platforms operate is “dangerously opaque,” with critical questions around data collection and algorithms “shrouded in secrecy.” On September 20, the FTC released a groundbreaking report that sheds light on how these powerful companies have operated. It shows how the tech industry’s monetization of personal data has created a market for commercial surveillance, especially via social media and video streaming services, with inadequate guardrails to protect consumers. The report finds that these companies engaged in mass data collection of their users and – in some cases – non-users. It reveals that many companies failed to implement adequate safeguards against privacy risks. It sheds light on how companies used our personal data, from serving hyper-granular targeted advertisements to powering algorithms that shape the content we see, often with the goal of keeping us hooked on using the service. And it finds that these practices pose unique risks to children and teens, with the companies
having done little to respond effectively to the documented concerns that policymakers, psychologists, and parents have expressed over young people’s physical and mental wellbeing.