Markey, Blumenthal Hammer Facebook on Child Manipulation Reports

Reports that Facebook manipulated kids into spending their parents’ money on in-app purchases without permission signals the platform puts profit ahead of user well-being, Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., wrote the company Tuesday. The Center for Investigative Reporting found “users requested refunds for over 9% of the money Facebook made from children,” they wrote. The company voluntarily unsealed documents on a 2012 case about refund policies when contacted by the center in 2018, a spokesperson emailed: “We routinely examine our own practices, and in 2016 agreed to update our terms and provide dedicated resources for refund requests related to purchases made by minors.”