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A complaint has been lodged with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by children's advocacy and tech accountability group Fairplay and parent activist Kristin Bride, urging the FTC to launch an investigation into the marketing and user engagement practices of the anonymous messaging app "Not Gonna Lie" (NGL).

The complaint alleges that NGL is exploiting deceptive practices to attract and manipulate its target demographic, which primarily includes teens. Fairplay and Bride contend that NGL's practices pose significant risks to children, including exacerbating cyberbullying.

Fairplay's policy counsel, Haley Hinkle, has argued that NGL is offering a product that has consistently shown itself to be deeply harmful to young users. She has drawn parallels with the FTC's actions against Epic Games and its privacy settlement of $520 million, indicating that tech companies must be held accountable for features that harm children. Hinkle and her associates assert that NGL is employing manipulative practices to engage and maintain users.

NGL claims to offer a space for teens to share their feelings without judgment; however, the complaint argues that the app shares similarities with a line of anonymous messaging apps notorious for content moderation and safety issues. The anonymity the app provides is said to create an environment conducive to more intense and frequent cyberbullying, potentially leading to serious consequences such as mental health issues and suicidality.

The complaint also highlights NGL's marketing of a paid "Pro" plan, allowing users to unveil the identity of message senders. Yet, it's alleged that despite NGL's marketing insinuating that users can discover message senders' identities, the app itself has no way of ascertaining this information.

In an unprecedented move, parent and social media reform advocate Kristin Bride, who lost her son to cyberbullying, has joined Fairplay in pressing this complaint. Bride believes that NGL is further monetizing a dangerous product and that developers should be held accountable for their unsafe designs.

The FTC and NGL have not issued statements regarding the complaint.