03 December 2023

Because, Of Course They Did

The criminal enterprise formerly known as Facebook™ has decided to challenge the FTC's authority to regulate anything because they want to continue to sell personal information from children to their advertisers.

This is not a surprise, considering the fact that Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg overruled his staff in order to keep plastic surgery filters on Instagram despite the clear evidence that it was harming children:

Meta has filed a lawsuit challenging the Federal Trade Commission's authority to regulate the social advertising giant.

If the Facebook parent succeeds in its claims, the US watchdog could be hobbled and hindered in its ability to pursue its consumer protection mandate.

Zuck & Co's complaint [PDF], filed in federal court in Washington, DC, on Wednesday claims the regulator's structure and operation violates the US Constitution.

In 2011, Meta, in its Facebook incarnation, settled with the FTC over allegations the Silicon Valley titan ran roughshod over people's privacy, and vowed to respect netizens' wishes to keep their info private.

In 2020, the FTC again settled with Meta over claims the biz broke that 2011 promise.

Now this lawsuit is an attempt by the corporation to stop the FTC from modifying that 2020 settlement.

If the history of the criminal enterprise formerly known as Facebook™ shows us anything, it is that they will promise to go forth and sin no more, and then promptly go back to sinning.

Dropping the hammer on this sociopathic business is not just good policy, it is a moral imperative.

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The FTC subsequently decided to seek meaningful shifts in the social network's policy. In May this year, the agency accused Meta of repeatedly violating its privacy commitments, claiming the ad biz has fallen short of its compliance obligations, misled parents about controls in the company's Messenger Kids app, and misrepresented facts about developer access to user data.

………

The proposed restrictions include: a blanket prohibition on monetizing the data of children and teens; disallowing the launch of new products until they've been assessed for privacy; an extension of compliance obligations to companies Meta acquires; limits on the use of facial recognition technology; and stronger third-party monitoring of data usage.

Given the nature of this Supreme Court, they have been pulling doctrine out of their ass to serve their right wing paymasters for decades, I am not sanguine about the FCC's chances here, but it is clear that Zuckerberg's little horror needs to be slapped down.

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