Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has taken legal action by filing a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in an attempt to prevent the reopening of a landmark $5 billion privacy settlement from 2020.
The lawsuit also seeks to block proposed restrictions that would prohibit Meta from monetizing the user data of children.
Filed in a Washington federal court on Thursday, the lawsuit contends that the FTC’s proceedings are an unconstitutional abuse of government power, asserting that the FTC has assumed the roles of both prosecutor and judge in what Meta describes as an “obvious power grab.”
This legal move comes in response to the FTC’s proposal in May to expand the terms of Meta’s 2020 consent order, citing new violations.
The proposed expansion includes stringent restrictions preventing Meta from monetizing the personal data of users under 18, as well as new limitations on facial recognition use.
The FTC also suggested a moratorium on new Meta products and services unless third-party audits confirm compliance with privacy obligations.
If approved, these restrictions could significantly impact Meta’s data-centric business, especially as the company aims to attract younger users and expand into new product areas, such as virtual reality.
The lawsuit against the FTC represents a broader trend of legal challenges to the authority of independent federal agencies, as questions about their power face scrutiny from the nation’s highest courts and potential limitations from the Supreme Court.
