March 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday issued orders to eight social media and video streaming firms including Meta

U.S. FTC asks social media, video streaming firms info on misleading ads

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2023-03-16 22:30:02

March 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday issued orders to eight social media and video streaming firms including Meta Platforms Inc (META.O), Twitter, TikTok and YouTube seeking information on how the platforms screen for misleading advertisements.

Snap (SNAP.N), Amazon.com Inc-owned (AMZN.O) Twitch, Pinterest (PINS.N) and Instagram are the other companies which are all required to provide information such as ad revenue and number of views including those in categories of products and services more prone to deception.

The regulator is seeking to scrutinize and restrict paid commercial advertising that is deceptive or exposes consumers to fraudulent healthcare products, financial scams, counterfeit and fake goods, or other fraud.

"Social media has been a gold mine for scammers who tout sham products and other scams that have cost consumers enormously in recent years," said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's consumer protection bureau.