A US Watchdog files complaint against Elon Musk X – formerly Twitter – seeking for an inquiry into the platform’s advertising practices, including the apparent failure to disclose some messages as advertisements.
Check My Ads, a non-profit organization, filed a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission concerning the lack of labeling of some posts as advertisements, stating that such information on the platform could mislead consumers.
“This misrepresentation tricks users into trusting content as organic and exacerbates the opportunity for scams to occur,” according to the complaint.
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“Furthermore, by failing to adequately disclose advertisements, X Corp. misrepresents the methods employed to target users or facilitate third-party ad targeting,” according to the statement.
After originally noticing instances of advertisements on X that were not labeled, the watchdog asked users on the microblogging network in September to report any such cases they came across.
In the weeks that followed, it gathered information from many users on “hundreds of unlabelled ads” to create a case to the FTC, demanding that X be investigated.
“It’s a big deal not to mark adverts. According to the complaint, “unlabelled ads may mislead users into thinking content is organic, increasing the risk of scams,” Check My Advertising noted in a blog post.
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People have no way of knowing they are being targeted when they see unlabeled adverts on social media networks.
While X is designed to explain why any user sees a specific ad via a hyperlink, the watchdog discovered that these connections are “frequently broken.”
“X Corp.’s lack of disclosures to consumers, misrepresentations to advertisers, and flawed access to explanations about targeted advertising constitute unfair and deceptive practices,” Check My Ads policy director Sarah Kay Wiley stated.
“We urge the Commission to determine the extent of these violations and address them to the full extent of its authority,” she said.
Also read: Elon Musk claims he purchased Twitter to save humanity from a “zombie apocalypse.”
The Independent’s request for comment was not immediately responded to by X.
The allegation comes as X employs a variety of strategies, including new paid services, to boost revenue, which has fallen by 60% since Mr Musk took over the company.
While advert posts used to have the phrase “promoted” below them, they now have a smaller “ad” label, which does not appear on some posts, as the complaint states.
Users have also complained on the platform about being unable to filter or report some unlabeled adverts.
