Meta sues FTC to block case regarding use of data by minors

Meta has sued the US Federal Trade Commission to prevent a 2020 lawsuit over the use of data from minors from being reopened. The FTC wants the agreed privacy promises to be tightened, which means, among other things, that Meta is no longer allowed to earn money from children’s data.

Meta calls FTC’s attempt to reopen three-year-old lawsuit ‘a clear power grab,’ writes Bloomberg, among others. According to the tech giant, it is unconstitutional ‘to unilaterally tighten an existing consent agreement’. The tech giant also calls it unfair that both the prosecutor and the judge belong to the FTC.

In 2020, the FTC and then-Facebook entered into a privacy agreement in a lawsuit over Meta’s role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. As part of the agreement, Meta had to pay a $5 billion fine and comply with a number of strict rules regarding user privacy.

However, the company violated the agreed rules, the FTC said last May. That is why the regulator wants to reopen the lawsuit and make the rules stricter. As part of the proposed changes, Meta will be prohibited from profiting from data it collects from users under the age of eighteen. It would also require explicit user consent for future use of facial recognition technology.

Furthermore, Meta would not be allowed to market new or modified products, services or features without written approval from an independent privacy reviewer, which monitors Meta’s compliance with the 2020 FTC privacy order. The new rules would apply to all subsidiaries of the company, including Facebook, Instagram, Oculus, WhatsApp and companies that Meta acquires in the future.

Last Monday got the FTC granted permission in federal court in Washington to pursue the privacy case. Meta already filed an objection to this decision on Tuesday, but now the tech giant is going one step further by suing the American privacy watchdog.