Rein in Facebook

Since Facebook is a free service, it is likely many of its users accept, however grudgingly, that the social media giant will use some personal information shared with the site to sell ads and make money.

But how many users know that Facebook collects data from other apps that is often quite sensitive?

That revelation was a key finding of an investigation by New York's Department of Financial Services, which found that Facebook improperly collected highly invasive data, including menstruation and fertility information, from outside app developers.

This is, of course, an outrageous violation of privacy. It’s yet another reason why lawmakers must take action to protect internet users from Facebook and the other tech giants. The companies have repeatedly shown that they rank ethics below profits and won’t change their behavior voluntarily.

Part of the problem is that many of the companies are now monopolies with the might to quash competition. Indeed, a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James and

her counterparts in 47 other states alleges that Facebook, which owns Instagram and Whatsapp, illegally preyed on smaller rivals.

Requiring Facebook to divest from Whatsapp and Instagram, as the litigation seeks, would be an achievement for consumers, but more needs to be done. Congress must enact a comprehensive national privacy law that puts boundaries around the collection and sharing of personal information, with tough punishments for companies that flout them.

Granted, regulating social media is difficult and complicated, especially at a time when other big controversies, including the superspreading of misinformation that led to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, are swirling around the tech companies. There are free speech considerations, among other factors, that must be weighed as lawmakers move forward.

Meanwhile, Big Tech has a massive incentive to resist and lobby against new rules. Consider that Facebook’s revenue last year topped $70 billion, with most of that coming from targeted advertising based on the detailed information it collects from users.

But there is a growing consensus, on both sides of the political aisle, that the government’s reluctance to put limits on an unfettered internet can no longer stand while the size and power of social media platforms continue to grow.

Something is clearly wrong when a woman entering deeply personal fertility information into an app must worry that Facebook will collect and sell those details. Something is obviously wrong when it is not illegal for Facebook to collect that data without asking for permission or providing notification — not in some voluminous document, but in a consumerfriendly disclosure that includes options for people to decide what personal information stays private.

The Department of Financial Services makes clear that it is long past time for Congress to rein in Facebook and other social media giants. Congress must put Americans’ right to privacy ahead of Big Tech’s unethical claim on profits.