Angela Lang/CNET
The US Federal Trade Commission has asked all major social media and video streaming platforms to provide information on how they deal with users’ personal data. The order was sent to Facebook, WhatsApp, Snap, Twitter, Amazon, YouTube, TikTok owner ByteDance, Twitch, Reddit and Discord Monday.
The FTC wants to know how the internet giants collect, use and track personal and demographic information, as well as how these policies affect minors. The companies have 45 days to respond to the order.
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Specifically, the FTC wants to know how these companies choose which ads to serve their users, whether they use algorithms or data analytics with personal information, and how they measure and research user engagement.
Twitter is working “as we always do to ensure the FTC has the information it needs to understand how Twitter operates its services,” a spokesperson told CNET in an emailed statement.
Reddit said it will work with the FTC to share its privacy policies.
Facebook, Snap, YouTube, ByteDance, Twitch, Amazon and Discord didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
