A recent study by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has found that the personal data collected by major digital companies generates “several billion dollars.”
The FTC asserts that social media and internet giants are involved in “mass surveillance” to profit from users’ personal information. The report, released on Wednesday evening, is based on inquiries initiated four years ago targeting nine companies. It reveals that these firms collect substantial amounts of data, sometimes through data brokers, and can retain this information indefinitely.
“This report sheds light on how social media platforms and streaming services amass vast quantities of personal data and monetize it for billions,” stated FTC Chair Lina Khan in a press release. She expressed “serious concerns regarding the inability of several of these companies to safeguard children and teenagers online.”
In many cases, the business models of these companies, which rely on targeted advertising, promote extensive data collection, prioritizing profits over privacy. “While these surveillance practices are lucrative for companies, they can endanger individuals’ privacy, threaten their freedoms, and expose them to various risks, including identity theft and harassment,” Khan noted.
**Data Privacy Concerns**
In response to the report’s findings, the head of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), an industry organization, voiced disappointment that the FTC continues to frame the digital advertising sector as participating in mass commercial surveillance. David Cohen emphasized that users recognize that targeted ads enable access to online services that might otherwise not be affordable or free.
The IAB also expressed strong support for comprehensive national legislation on personal data, a measure the report advocates.
The FTC’s report is grounded in inquiries made in late 2020 to companies such as Meta, YouTube (Google), Snap, Amazon (for Twitch), ByteDance (TikTok), and Twitter (now X). A Google spokesperson, Jose Cataneda, remarked that the company “maintains the industry’s most stringent privacy standards.” “We never sell personal information and do not utilize sensitive data for advertising,” he assured.