Consumer Groups Urge FTC Probe of Google, Facebook Consent Practices

The FTC should investigate “misleading and manipulative” practices by Google and Facebook that steer users toward “privacy-invasive default settings,” said the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Consumer Watchdog and six other consumer advocacy groups Wednesday. They cited an EU general data protection regulation-related study from the Norwegian Consumer Council claiming “users were deliberately pushed into less privacy friendly options.” The Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Action and Public Citizen signed. “In the run up to GDPR we asked people to review key privacy information which was written in plain language, as well as make choices on three important topics,” a Facebook spokeswoman emailed. “Our approach complies with the law, follows recommendations from privacy and design experts, and is designed to help people understand how the technology works and their choices.” The FTC and Google didn’t comment.