Reddit reveals FTC investigation into deals licensing users’ data for AI training

The Reddit app icon is seen on a smartphone in Marple Township, Pennsylvania, on February 28, 2023. Reddit announced on Friday, March 15, 2024, that the Federal Trade Commission has begun an investigation into the social platform’s sales, licensing, and sharing practices. User contributions and other content to external organizations for use in training artificial intelligence models. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

Reddit said Friday that the Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into social media platforms that sell, license or share user posts and other content to outside organizations for use in training artificial intelligence models. .

The company disclosed its investigation Friday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that cited a letter from the FTC dated Thursday.

“Given the novel nature of these technologies and commercial arrangements, we are not surprised that the FTC has expressed interest in this area,” Reddit wrote in its filing. “We do not believe that we have engaged in unfair or deceptive trade practices.”

Like many other social media platforms, Reddit has expressed interest in business deals where AI companies pay a fee to access a database of human-written text that AI models can use to , you can improve your ability to create texts and images on request.

U.S. consumer sentiment has weakened slightly, but a majority expects inflation to ease further.

Consumers have become slightly less optimistic about the economy this month, but still expect inflation to slow further, a sign that price increases may continue to slow.

The University of Michigan’s Consumer Confidence Index fell to 76.5 in March, just below February’s 76.9. Americans’ outlooks have remained essentially fixed since their sharp rise in January.

Sentiment is about midway between the all-time low reached in June 2022, when inflation peaked, and the pre-pandemic average. Americans’ economic outlook is likely to have a significant impact on the presidential election, and the presidential election will likely focus heavily on how they view President Joe Biden’s economic performance.