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.
