FTC orders Big Tech to address surge in ads promoting scams and fraudulent products

Christopher Hutton

March 16, 04:02 PM March 16, 04:02 PM

The Federal Trade Commission ordered some of the biggest social media and streaming companies to provide them with information on how scammers and fraudsters use their platforms to sell and trade deceptive goods.

The agency on Thursday issued orders to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, Snap, Twitter, Pinterest, and Twitch to provide information about their standards related to ad screening and monitoring. The companies were also told to give information on ad revenue about categories, such as healthcare and fraud, more prone to fraudulent behavior.

SVB COLLAPSE: CREDIT SUISSE SHARES SOAR FOLLOWING TWO-DAY DECLINE

"Social media has been a gold mine for scammers who tout sham products and other scams that have cost consumers enormously in recent years," said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a statement. "This study will help the FTC ensure that social media and video streaming companies are doing everything they can to keep scammers and deceptive ads off their platforms."

Fraud reports have been on the decline. The Consumer Sentinel Network received 2.4 million fraud reports in 2022, a reduction compared to 2021's 2.9 million reports.

The FTC has been particularly interested in Big Tech companies in the last term. The agency has pressed Twitter to probe whether it is complying with a May 2022 consent order and attempted to block Meta's acquisition of a virtual reality developer — a suit that was shot down by a judge in February.

Vast majority of youngsters are on TikTok, and pretty much all are on YouTube

Christopher Hutton

August 10, 03:11 PM August 10, 03:11 PM

Teenagers in the United States appear to favor TikTok and YouTube in excess of all other social media platforms.

Teenage buyers said that they most popular the two popular online video platforms, in accordance to details released by the Pew Study Middle on Wednesday. The study company unveiled the preference for the two social networks as TikTok carries on to facial area tension from legislators and critics for its ties to the Chinese governing administration.

Just about all, 95%, of U.S. teenagers mentioned they have applied YouTube prior to, whilst 67% mentioned they utilized TikTok.

Observe: SAMSUNG UNVEILS NEW FLIP Phones AND EARBUDS

The image-concentrated social networks Instagram and Snapchat have witnessed a surge of curiosity among the young people. Sixty-two % of teens say that they have utilized Instagram, whilst 59% mentioned they made use of Snapchat, according to Pew. That is a recognizable surge of interest since 2015, when only 52% of adolescents stated they applied Instagram, and 41% said they experienced applied Snapchat.

The more mature platforms have also lost curiosity amid adolescents. Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr have all observed their teenage end users fall substantially since 2015, reflecting that the platforms are having difficulties to catch the attention of younger users.

App use fees differed by gender and by race. Female young adults were being a lot more probable to use TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat than male teenagers, in accordance to Pew. Black youngsters ended up also a lot more probably to use TikTok than white or Hispanic youngsters.

While TikTok is common with teenage users, it has captivated the attention of legislators for different factors. TikTok's guardian organization ByteDance has acquired several letters from lawmakers about issues about Chinese personnel accessing U.S. users' info. ByteDance's management has verified that Chinese personnel have obtain to U.S. facts, albeit constrained by way of safety protocols. TikTok's CEO also claims the business has hardly ever shared information with the Chinese Communist Celebration. However, ByteDance has promoted Chinese information by way of other applications, which include its English language news aggregator.

As the selection of teenage customers grows, applications have had to adapt amid scrutiny in excess of kid privateness. Snap, Snapchat's guardian firm, announced Monday that it experienced implemented more controls for mother and father to supervise their kid's perform, which include the means to see who is messaging their little ones. Meta announced in March that it was introducing a "Family members Centre" for Instagram to supply resources for mom and dad to retain teens risk-free.