FTC Should Probe Video App Zynn’s Business, GOP Senator Says

The Federal Trade Commission should investigate video sharing app Zynn’s business practices and privacy protection policies, a Republican lawmaker said.

Similar to TikTok, Zynn allows users to upload and share short video clips. But Zynn pays users to watch and share its video content, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote Wednesday in a letter to the FTC commissioners. Users can get paid larger payments by referring others to use the app, he said.

“On its face, this smacks of a textbook predatory-pricing scheme, one calculated to attain immediate market dominance for Zynn by driving competitors out of the market,” said Hawley, a member of the Senate Judiciary Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee.

“Zynn may not be abiding by the requirements of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act,” Hawley said. The FTC reached a $5.7 million settlement with Bytedance Ltd.’s TikTok over COPPA violations last year.

Hawley also questioned Zynn’s ties to the Chinese government. “Zynn is backed by Kuaishou, a Chinese conglomerate that specializes in providing short-form video content to the Chinese market,” he wrote.

“There are serious reasons to question whether Zynn’s ultimate objectives are aligned with the interests of the United States,” Hawley wrote

The FTC confirmed that it received the letter, but declined to comment further.

Kuaishou didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.