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FTC Bans Anonymous Q&A App ‘NGL’ from Serving Minors

In the first action of its kind for the government agency, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has banned the anonymous social app NGL from serving or advertising to minors.

Launched in 2021, NGL gained popularity by allowing users to post links on social media for friends to send them anonymous questions. The app was marketed as a safe space with AI-driven content moderation to filter out cyberbullying. However, the FTC’s investigation found these claims to be false.

NGL marketed its app to kids and teens despite knowing that it was exposing them to cyberbullying and harassment. In light of NGL’s reckless disregard for kids’ safety, the FTC’s order would ban NGL from marketing or offering its app to those under 18 that it was exposing them to cyberbullying and harassment,” stated FTC Chair Lina Khan.

Further allegations indicate that NGL sent fake questions to users, prompting them to pay a $9.99 monthly fee to receive hints about the question senders. This bait-and-switch tactic misled users into paying for a service based on deceptive claims.

The FTC, working with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office, accused NGL and its co-founders of failing to protect minors and falsely claiming their AI moderation system’s effectiveness. NGL also violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

As part of the settlement, NGL must implement an age gate to block users under 18. The company must also clearly disclose recurring charges and cannot misrepresent message senders or AI moderation capabilities.

We view this resolution as an opportunity to make NGL better than ever for our users. While we believe many of the allegations around the youth of our user base are factually incorrect, we anticipate that the agreed upon age-gating and other procedures will now provide direction for others in our space,” responded NGL’s co-founder, Joao Figueiredo.

This landmark decision by the FTC underlines the importance of protecting minors in the digital space and sets a precedent for other platforms to prioritize user safety and transparency.

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