Not Gonna Lie app overview:
- Who: Nonprofit child advocacy group Fairplay and parent activist Kristin Bride filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
- Why: Their FTC complaint urges the agency to investigate the Not Gonna Lie app, an anonymous messaging app that they claim poses content moderation and safety risks to teens.
- Where: The complaint was filed with the Federal Trade Commission.
A child advocacy nonprofit and a parent activist have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission urging the agency to investigate the marketing and practices of the anonymous messaging Not Gonna Lie app.
Fairplay is a nonprofit organization that seeks accountability for tech companies that market to children. Fairplay and parent activist Kristin Bride filed the FTC complaint on Oct. 19 alleging the app uses deceptive practices to entice teenagers to use the app and also increasing the danger of cyberbullying.
“It is beyond the pale that [the Not Gonna Lie app] is offering kids and teens a product that has time and again proven deeply harmful, and along the way, they are profiting off of the young users who just want to know who is tormenting them,” Fairplay policy counsel Haley Hinkle said.
The FTC complaint says the app purports to provide teenagers with “a space to share their feelings without judgment from friends or societal pressures,” but in reality the app “is simply the latest in a long line of anonymous messaging apps plagued by content moderation and safety issues.”
Cyberbullying on Not Gonna Lie app can affect teens’ mental health, FTC complaint says
The Not Gonna Lie app was launched in November 2021 and allows users to solicit anonymous messages on social media apps like Instagram, Snapchat and X (formerly known as Twitter). The plaintiffs say this anonymity creates an environment that allows for more frequent and intense cyberbullying, which can affect teens’ mental health and could lead to suicidal thoughts.
A paid version of the Not Gonna Lie app supposedly helps teens learn the identities of anonymous message senders, but the company allegedly has no way of knowing senders’ identities, according to the FTC complaint.
Bride’s 16-year-old son reportedly died by suicide after being cyberbullied on other anonymous messaging apps. Although the apps her son used are now defunct, she says it is “extremely concerning” that the Not Gonna Lie app monetizes the app “by charging vulnerable teens for useless hints regarding who is sending them the messages.”
New York officials recently announced two bills intended to protect children from damaging mental health effects associated with social media use.
Have you used the Not Gonna Lie app? Tell us what you think of the FTC complaint in the comments.
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