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A4 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 4 May 2023

FTC: Facebook misled parents, failed to guard kids’ privacy

By BARBARA ORTUTAY The app doesn’t give kids
AP Technology Writer separate Facebook or
U.S. regulators say Face- Messenger accounts. Rath-
book misled parents and er, it works as an extension
failed to protect the priva- of a parent’s account, and
cy of children using its Mes- parents get controls, such
senger Kids app, including as the ability to decide with
misrepresenting the access whom their kids can chat.
it provided to app devel- At the time, Facebook said
opers to private user data. Messenger Kids wouldn’t
As a result, The Feder- show ads or collect data
al Trade Commision on for marketing, though it
Wednesday proposed would collect some data it
sweeping changes to a said was necessary to run
2020 privacy order with the service.
Facebook now called But child-development
Meta that would prohibit experts raised immediate
it from profiting from data concerns.
it collects on users under In early 2018, a group of
18. This would include data 100 experts, advocates
collected through its vir- and parenting organiza-
tual-reality products. The tions contested Face-
FTC said the company has book’s claims that the app
failed to fully comply with was filling a need kids had
the 2020 order. This photo shows the Facebook’s Messenger Kids application on an iPhone in New York, Feb. 16, for a messaging service.
2018.
Meta would also be sub- Associated Press The group included non-
ject to other limitations, in- profits, psychiatrists, pedia-
cluding with its use of face- ness has put young users at edented theory. Let’s be in a prepared statement. tricians, educators and the
recognition technology risk, and Facebook needs clear about what the FTC is The Menlo Park, California children’s music singer Raffi
and be required to provide to answer for its failures.” trying to do: usurp the au- company added that it will Cavoukian.
additional privacy protec- Meta called the announce- thority of Congress to set “vigorously fight” the FTC’s “Messenger Kids is not re-
tions for its users. ment a “political stunt.” industry-wide standards action and expects to pre- sponding to a need it is
“Facebook has repeatedly “Despite three years of and instead single out one vail.Facebook launched creating one,” the letter
violated its privacy prom- continual engagement American company while Messenger Kids in 2017, said.
ises,” said Samuel Levine, with the FTC around our allowing Chinese compa- pitching it as a way for chil- “It appeals primarily to chil-
director of the FTC’s Bureau agreement, they provided nies, like TikTok, to oper- dren to chat with family dren who otherwise would
of Consumer Protection. no opportunity to discuss ate without constraint on members and friends ap- not have their own social
“The company’s reckless- this new, totally unprec- American soil,” Meta said proved by their parents. media accounts.” q

1 dead, 4 hurt in shooting inside Atlanta medical facility

By JEFF AMY formation about his where- aged 25, 39, 56 and 71. gators. the shooting a few blocks
Associated Press abouts to call 911 and not The four injured women In a statement, the U.S. away. They said the ve-
ATLANTA (AP) — Police approach him. “are fighting for their lives Coast Guard said Patterson hicle has been recovered
said a man opened fire Atlanta Police Chief Darin at Grady Hospital,” Atlanta had joined the service in in suburban Cobb County,
inside the waiting room of Schierbaum told reporters Mayor Andre Dickens said 2018 and was discharged and they were working to
an Atlanta medical facil- that a 39-year-old woman during a news conference. from active duty in Janu- determine whether the ve-
ity, killing one woman and was pronounced dead at Schierbaum added that ary. He was an electrician’s hicle was connected to the
injuring four others Wednes- the scene. The four injured Patterson’s family is “being mate second class at the shooting.
day as authorities swarmed victims were also women, cooperative” with investi- time. Crime Stoppers was of-
the city’s bustling midtown Four hours after the shoot- fering a reward of up to
neighborhood in search of ing, police said they be- $10,000 for information
the 24-year-old suspect. lieved Patterson had left leading to the arrest and
Shortly after noon, police the area. They lifted a shel- indictment of the suspect.
were called to the North- ter-in-place advisory, but The shooting comes as cit-
side Medical building on asked people to stay away ies around the U.S. have
West Peachtree Street in from the area due to the been wracked by gun vio-
a commercial area with active investigation. lence and mass shootings
many office towers and “This is a very active in 2023.
high-rise apartments. search,” Schierbaum said. In surveillance photos re-
Atlanta police said the sus- “We’re following up on leased by police, the sus-
pected shooter is believed credible leads that are pect was wearing dark
to be Deion Patterson and currently active in Cobb pants and a light colored
that he was considered County, as well as some hoodie with the hood
armed and dangerous. Au- here in the city.” pulled up. He had a mask
thorities put out a photo of Atlanta police said they are on his face and appeared
Patterson showing his face Law enforcement officers arrive near the scene of an active aware of a carjacking that to be wearing a bag across
and asked anyone with in- shooter on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 in Atlanta. Associated Press happened not long after his front.q