Washington (May 3, 2023) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) released the following statement on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) proposal to ban Meta from monetizing the data of kids and teens after the company’s alleged violations of an FTC settlement with the company:

“In a Big Tech ecosystem of predatory platforms, Meta stands out for its appalling and consistent record of tracking kids, harming teens, and lying to parents. Today, the FTC has affirmed what we’ve been saying for years: Meta has already violated the law, and now it’s failing to comply with the terms of its privacy probation. We commend the FTC for taking this step and urge it to move forward with holding Meta accountable.

“Clearly, though, Congress must also act if we are to put an end to these egregious privacy violations and protect young people from the invasive and damaging Big Tech business model. That’s why today we reintroduced our bipartisan legislation to update the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, ban targeted ads to kids, and stop all online platforms—not just Meta and other companies under FTC consent decrees—from raking in profits through the exploitation of an entire generation.”

Earlier today, Senator Markey and Senator Cassidy announced the reintroduction of the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), legislation to update online data privacy rules for the 21st century to ensure children and teenagers are protected online. In August 2019, Senator Markey demanded answers from Facebook about a design flaw in the company’s Messenger Kids app, which allowed children to circumvent protections and chat with unapproved strangers.

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