Privacy Alarm: Coalition Urges FTC to Halt Meta’s Plan to Use Private AI Chats for Ads
A coalition of more than thirty human rights, consumer protection, and child advocacy organizations has urged the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to halt Meta’s initiative that would allow the company to use private conversations with its AI chatbots for advertising and content personalization. The appeal, addressed to FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson and the agency’s commissioners, calls upon them to invoke the powers granted under Meta’s existing consent decree and Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act to prevent the implementation of this practice.
On October 1, 2025, Meta announced that starting December 16, it would begin using data from AI-driven interactions across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp to fine-tune advertising algorithms and deliver personalized recommendations. These conversations often include deeply personal topics—ranging from health and family issues to emotional and psychological struggles—yet the company does not provide users with a meaningful opportunity for informed consent or guarantee any enhanced data protection measures.
The organizations signing the letter called on the FTC to take several actions: compel Meta to disclose its risk assessment results and compliance reports; classify the use of chatbot conversations for advertising as an unfair and deceptive practice under Section 5; suspend the rollout of the program pending review; and finalize long-delayed amendments to the 2020 consent order, including a ban on monetizing minors’ data. The signatories also urged the commission to make its findings public.
According to the coalition, Meta’s new policy is not a mere feature addition but a deliberate step in an overarching strategy to expand the company’s commercial surveillance apparatus. They warn that without regulatory intervention, this model could become an industry norm, further eroding the concept of privacy. Representatives from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) stated that the FTC’s inaction has already led to systemic abuses, and Meta’s new initiative illustrates how vast personal data collection can become when disguised as friendly chatbot interactions. The organization insists that regulators must strengthen oversight of the company’s activities and end the prolonged delays in investigations aimed at protecting children from invasive tracking.
The Deputy Director of the Center for Digital Democracy added that such policies do more than alter advertising mechanisms—they effectively redefine the boundaries of private life in the age of artificial intelligence. She noted that user surveillance through chatbots has already become a reality, and Meta is merely accelerating a process in which other tech giants are embedding intrusive analytics models into every layer of digital interaction.
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