Letter From The FTC Chair
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has raised concerns about claims that Apple is censoring conservative content on the Apple News app. In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, FTC chair Andrew Ferguson cited reports from the Media Research Center, a right-leaning think tank, which said Apple excluded right-leaning outlets from the top 20 articles shown in the Apple News feed. Ferguson wrote that the reports raise questions about whether Apple News is acting in line with its terms of service and its statements to consumers, and said he condemns attempts to censor content for ideological reasons.
Potential Legal Implications
Ferguson said the FTC does not have authority to require Apple to take ideological or political positions when curating news. He added that if Apple’s practices are inconsistent with its terms of service or with what consumers can reasonably expect, those practices could violate the FTC Act. Ferguson has urged Apple to carry out a comprehensive review of its policies and to ensure that content shown in Apple News matches those policies, and to take corrective action if it does not.
Support From The FCC Chair
Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, supported Ferguson’s position. Carr said Apple has no right to suppress conservative viewpoints in a way that would violate the FTC Act.
Political Context And Recent Developments
The letter followed a post by President Donald Trump, who shared the Media Research Center report on his social media platform, Truth Social. Trump has repeatedly accused large technology companies of censoring right-leaning content. Several major platforms have in recent years rolled back measures that were introduced to limit the spread of false information and disinformation.
Apple And The Trump Administration
Apple’s relationship with the Trump administration has shifted over the past year. Trump has criticized major technology companies, including Apple, for manufacturing devices in China. After Tim Cook said the company would spend more than $600 billion in the United States over the next four years, relations improved. Apple also avoided planned tariffs on smartphones made overseas and imported into the United States.
Earlier FTC Inquiry Into Platform Censorship
The FTC last year opened an investigation into what it described as censorship by technology platforms and asked for input from members of the public who believed they were silenced because of political views or affiliations. At the time, Ferguson said technology firms should not bully users and said the inquiry would help the agency understand whether companies had broken the law by silencing or intimidating people for expressing their views.
Featured image credits: Freerange Stock
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