Study will include special attention to
how online platforms impact children and teens
Washington (December 14, 2020) – Senator Edward J. Markey
(D-Mass.) today issued the following statement after the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) announced that it is issuing orders to Amazon, ByteDance,
Discord, Facebook, Reddit, Snap, Twitter, WhatsApp and YouTube, requiring the
companies to provide crucial information about their data practices. Exercising
its authority under Section 6(b) of the FTC
Act, the Commission will require these companies to answer questions
specifically about how their practices affect children and teens’ privacy.
“Social media platforms and video streaming services are daily
destinations for young people today,” said Senator Markey, a member of the
Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. “Unfortunately, parents and policymakers alike are in the dark
about how powerful websites and apps are siphoning kids’ and teens’ personal
information, profiling users, and raking in profits while children get hooked
on their devices. No comprehensive investigation of these websites would be
complete without special attention to children and teens, a uniquely vulnerable
population online. I am glad that the FTC heeded my calls to issue these
orders, and I thank my bipartisan partners who joined me in advocating for this
investigation.”
In May, Senators
Markey, Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Bill Cassidy
(R-La.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and
Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) wrote to the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) urging it to use its authority under the FTC Act to launch an
investigation into children’s data practices in the digital advertising sector
and educational technology sector.
###
