Facebook on the cross hairs of privacy groups over kids’ in-game buys

Facebook Inc. is confronting another complaint about its online practices — this time from privacy advocates that are concerned the company tricked children into making purchases while playing games on the social network.

The organizations, which include Common Sense Media, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and the Center for Digital Democracy, argued in a letter to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that Facebook may have engaged in unlawful “unfair or deceptive practices” and violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA, and requested that the agency conduct an investigation.

The FTC has already been probing Facebook, discussing punishment for privacy violations that could force the social-media giant to pay billions of dollars in a settlement. The current FTC inquiry focuses on whether Facebook violated a 2011 decree that required the company to respect its users’ privacy decisions. A record fine could come in the next few months, people familiar with the matter have said. Other government organizations, in the U.S., Germany and the U.K., are also looking into the company.