Social media users lack control over data used by AI, says US FTC

Social media companies collect, share and process vast troves of information about their users while offering little transparency or control, including over how it is used by systems incorporating artificial intelligence, the US Federal Trade Commission said in a report released on Thursday.

The report analyzed how Meta Platforms, ByteDance’s TikTok, Amazon’s gaming platform Twitch, and others manage user data, concluding that data management and retention policies at many of the companies were “woefully inadequate.