The Federal Trade Commission is requesting detailed explanations from the organizations operating many of the most popular social media and video sharing services regarding their data handling practices. The request was issued to Amazon, the parent company of TikTok (ByteDance), Facebook, WhatsApp, Discord, Reddit, Snap, Twitter, and YouTube, and these companies have 45 days to respond.

The FTC is specifically interested in understanding how these businesses “gather, utilize, and display personal data, along with their methods for advertising and maintaining user engagement, and the impact of these practices on younger demographics.” The order received support from four FTC commissioners, while Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips registered a dissenting opinion.

Commissioners Rohit Chopra, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, and Christine S. Wilson jointly stated, “Even though these online platforms are integral to our everyday routines, the choices they make concerning consumers and consumer information are largely kept confidential.”

“… Regulators and the general public currently lack sufficient insight into how social media and video streaming platforms acquire and monetize user data and attention. It’s concerning that our understanding remains limited regarding organizations that possess such extensive knowledge about us.”

This new information-gathering initiative by the FTC represents the latest in a series of federal efforts to scrutinize the technology sector, coming after the agency’s announcement last week of a lawsuit against Facebook alleging antitrust violations. The order was authorized under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act and functions as a study of industry practices. While it doesn’t currently involve any enforcement actions, the agency retains the option to pursue such actions based on its findings.

The FTC demonstrated increased scrutiny of the tech industry last year, particularly regarding potential antitrust concerns. The agency established a dedicated task force to oversee mergers and acquisitions and other activities that could potentially stifle competition. Earlier in 2020, the FTC initiated a comprehensive study analyzing nearly ten years of acquisitions made by Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft.