Meta files lawsuit against FTC seeking to block tough new restrictions on kids’ data

WASHINGTON — Instagram-parent Meta has sued the Federal Trade Commission in an attempt to prevent regulators from reopening the company’s landmark $5 billion privacy settlement from 2020 and and from banning the social media giant from monetizing the user data of children.

Thursday’s lawsuit in Washington federal court calls for a halt to the FTC’s proceeding, arguing that it is an unconstitutional abuse of government power.

Meta argues in the complaint that the FTC has acted as both prosecutor and judge in an “obvious power grab … resulting in an unconstitutional adjudication by fiat.”

The suit marks an escalation by Meta after a federal judge in the same court ruled on Monday that the FTC proceeding could move forward. Meta appealed that decision on Tuesday, but Thursday’s lawsuit expands the company’s pushback further. The FTC declined to comment on the new suit.

After alleging new violations of Meta’s 2020 consent order, the FTC proposed in May to expand the terms of the company’s settlement to include significant new restrictions barring it from monetizing the personal data of users under age 18. The agency also called for new limitations on Meta’s use of facial recognition, as well as a moratorium on new products and services from the company unless a third-party audit can prove it is complying with its privacy obligations.

If approved, the restrictions could significantly limit Meta’s data-driven business, particularly as it seeks to court younger users and to grow in new product areas, such as virtual reality.

Meta’s lawsuit also reflects the latest in a series of legal attacks on the authority of independent federal agencies, power that is increasingly under scrutiny by the nation’s highest courts and may be curtailed by the Supreme Court.

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