US FTC bars anonymous messaging app from serving users younger than 18

Bride, a member of ParentsSOS, next to an apple tree she planted after her son Carson’s suicide, at home in Lake Oswego, Oregon, on June 15, 2024. Bride had filed a complaint against NGL to the Federal Trade Commission in October. The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, barred an online service for the first time from serving users under the age of 18, saying the app had violated child privacy and consumer protection laws and had harmed children and teenagers. — The New York Times

WASHINGTON: The US Federal Trade Commission on July 9 barred an online service for the first time from serving users younger than 18, saying the app had violated child privacy and consumer protection laws and had harmed children and teenagers.

The FTC said it had reached a settlement with the maker of the anonymous messaging app NGL over privacy and consumer protection violations. NGL Labs, the maker of NGL, had aggressively marketed the app as a “safe space for teens” with robust moderation practices, but instead it exposed users to cyberbullying and other harms, the agency said.