Facebook Puts Support Behind Data Movability Law Before FTC Meeting

Amid an approaching Federal Trade Commission (FTC) meeting, Facebook has advocated for rules that make it simpler for users to move media to a competing technology firm, Reuters reported.

“The FTC often issues reports following these workshops,” Facebook Privacy and Public Policy Manager Bijan Madhani told the newswire. “I think their recommendations should include dedicated portability legislation.”

The social media company let American and Canadian users move media to Google Photos for the first time back in the spring.

Facebook said the Access Act is a positive initial move in the right direction. The bill would mandate that big tech firms allow their users to simply transmit their information to different platforms.

Data portability, for its part, has been an essential part in the conversation over antitrust domestically and in Europe.

Facebook indicated in April that it ultimately aspires to let users transition important information like friend lists and contacts onto a different platform in a manner that safeguards privacy.

The news comes as Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook, testified before the FTC as part of the organization’s antitrust probe into the social media company.

It is not known what the chief executive discussed during his digital testimony over two days, however the testimony reportedly indicates that the agency is proceeding with the probe it opened last summer.

Joe Osborne, a Facebook representative, said per a report that the firm is “committed to cooperating with the US Federal Trade Commission’s inquiry and answering the questions the Agency may have.”

In other news, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is proceeding with its probe into Big Tech firms based on antitrust complaints per Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen as noted by Reuters.

“We are going full-tilt,” Rosen said per Reuters. “It’s a major priority. We have a great team working really hard to get on top of the documents, hearing from people in the industry and the like.”