Meta strenuously denied the FTC\u2019s approach, calling it \u201ca political stunt\u201d in a statement. \u201cDespite three years of continual engagement with the FTC around our agreement, they provided no opportunity to discuss this new, totally unprecedented theory,\u201d said Meta policy spokesperson Christopher Sgro, accusing FTC chair Lina Khan of \u201ca new low\u201d in letting TikTok run free while antagonizing Meta. \u201cWe have spent vast resources building and implementing an industry-leading privacy program under the terms of our FTC agreement. We will vigorously fight this action and expect to prevail.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today sees the FTC publishing an Order to Show Cause, which details the issues noted in brief above and was not publicly available at the time of writing. Meta has 30 days to respond, after which the agency will \u201ccarefully [consider] the facts and arguments made by the parties\u201d and decide whether the expanded order is justified (not a foregone conclusion; one Commissioner questions the tactics). I have asked when the new order could potentially take effect and will update this post if I hear back.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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