FTC Commissioner concerned about AI collecting children’s data
Nov. 14, 2024 — U.S. Federal Trade Commissioner Melissa Holyoak said on Thursday the agency should look into how artificial-intelligence products use the data they gather from younger users, amid privacy and safety concerns.
Holyoak, one of two Republicans on the commission who could end up as its acting chair after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January, said the agency should review what authority it has to gather information about AI privacy practices regarding children.
The former Utah solicitor general gave the example of kids using AI services in the way older generations looked to a Magic 8 Ball fortune-telling toy, asking, "should I go to the dance?"
"Who is collecting that? Who has that information? Where is that information going?" Holyoak said during a speech at an American Bar Association antitrust meeting in Washington.