The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took aim at the business models of some of the world’s largest companies, publishing a years-long study that decried technologies that have created “vast surveillance” networks that expose people to “a host of harms” and violate children’s privacy laws.

In its 129-page report, FTC staff accused companies including Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok of not “consistently prioritizing” user privacy, and instead focusing on efforts to feed data to advertising and artificial intelligence tools. The study was published after nearly four years of research, during which the agency issued orders to companies including Meta, Alphabet, X (Twitter), and Reddit, demanding information on how they collect and use people’s data.

The FTC’s report represents among the harshest criticism the US government has leveled at online advertising technologies, which provide the majority of profits for many large tech companies, and represent the backbone of many others, including those in media and retail. It also comes at a time when governments around the world are increasingly scrutinizing how companies handle data and protect customer privacy.

These issues have taken on even more significance as advanced artificial intelligence technology has swept the globe. Companies are increasingly seeking out new ways to collect and analyze data to then feed to their AI’s in hopes of improving their accuracy and capabilities. The frenzy has led lawmakers and regulators to consider a host of new rules, including laws. In California, lawmakers have passed bills aimed at strengthening privacy and fighting discrimination, while the European lawmakers have written the AI Act, which is meant to increase transparency about the ways AI is used and what data it uses.

Those moves are all part of the backdrop leading into Compliance Week’s AI & Compliance Summit Oct. 8-9 in Boston, where we will delve into the benefits, potential risks and ethical considerations surrounding this rapidly evolving technology. A week later, we’ll hold Compliance Week Europe, a two-day conference in Amsterdam starting Oct. 15, where Compliance Week and its sister organization, the International Compliance Association, will be bringing together more than 200 GRC professionals across tech, banking, media, manufacturing, and healthcare to help discuss how they’re making sense of a constantly changing business environment.