The US Federal Trade Commission has proposed prohibiting social media giant Meta from making profits from data it collects from users under the age of 18.
The FTC said on Wednesday that it is proposing changes to a privacy order that took effect on the company in 2020.
The FTC accused Meta, formerly known as Facebook, of failing to fully comply with the order. The commission said that children in certain circumstances were able to communicate through its social media app with contacts not approved by their parents.
Under the 2020 order, Meta was required to pay a penalty of 5 billion dollars for breaching the privacy of millions of its users in 2018. The company also pledged to improve measures to protect user privacy at the time.
Meta has hinted at lodging an objection against the FTC's latest move.
If the ban is implemented, Meta will be restricted from allowing adverts in line with minors' tastes on its social media apps.