WAUSAU PILOT AND REVIEW
A coalition of child safety and online privacy groups is urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Facebook after records obtained by the Center for Investigative Reporting revealed that the social media giant had duped children out of their parents’ money.
“Facebook’s internal documents indicate a callous disregard for young people and a culture that prioritized profits over people,” the coalition wrote last week in a complaint filed with the FTC.
The documents, unsealed last month, include internal memos, secret strategies and employee emails. They paint a damning picture of Facebook’s attitude toward children it knew were spending their parents’ money on in-platform games.
The company knew it was bamboozling children, denied refunds and ignored years of warnings from its own employees.
In some cases, employees even referred to children as “whales” – casino slang for profligate spenders.
The Center’s produced an immediate backlash. Shortly after publication, two U.S. senators and a group of advocates sent letters to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In one letter, U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal asked when Zuckerberg became aware of his company’s practices – and who is currently responsible for addressing issues of children’s use of the platform.
Another letter, this one from a group of internet privacy and child health care advocates, called on Zuckerberg to shut down Messenger Kids, a new service the company was aiming at children 13 and under.
“The documents appear to demonstrate that Facebook is willing to cause actual harm to children and families in its quest for profit. As such, Facebook is unfit to make any platform or product for children, especially one like Messenger Kids, which gives Facebook unfettered access to kids’ relationships, conversations, and private moments with friends and family,” the letter reads.
