Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, PRIVACY NEWS: Markey asks FTC what it’s doing about Facebook data use changes, (Sep 12, 2013)

By Lynn Stanton,TR Daily

Sen. Edward J. Markey (D., Mass.) has asked the FTC whether it views Facebook, Inc.’s recently proposed changes to its data use policy and its statement of rights and responsibilities as violations of Facebook’s 2011 privacy settlement with the FTC, and what actions it “has taken or plans to take to investigate whether Facebook’s proposed changes to its privacy policy violate the agreement.”

Facebook announced the proposed changes in August, saying that they are intended “to make it clear” that users grant Facebook permission to use their names, profiles, pictures, and content “in connection with ads or commercial content.”

Echoing concerns expressed by six consumer groups to the FTC last week, Sen. Markey said in his letter to the agency: “This troubling shift in policy [by Facebook] raises a number of questions about whether Facebook is improperly altering its privacy policy without proper user consent and, if the changes go into effect, the degree to which Facebook users will lose control over their personal information.”

The 2011 FTC settlement order required that before sharing a user’s nonpublic user information with a third party in a way that materially exceeds the restrictions in the user’s privacy settings, Facebook must obtain the user’s “affirmative express consent.”

Sen. Markey also expressed particular concern about the effect of the changes on users under the age of 18.

Companies: Facebook, Inc.

News: ConsumerProtection Privacy FederalTradeCommissionNews