The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has raised concerns over allegations 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 accused Apple of excluding right-leaning outlets from the top articles in its news feed.
Ferguson stated that these reports raise serious questions about whether Apple News is acting in accordance with its terms of service and its representations to consumers. He added that he abhors and condemns any attempt to censor content for ideological reasons.
Ferguson, a Big Tech critic appointed by former President Trump, noted the FTC does not have the power to require Apple to take specific ideological positions when curating news. However, he said that if the company’s practices are inconsistent with its terms of service or the reasonable expectations of consumers, they may violate the FTC Act.
Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and another Trump appointee critical of Big Tech, supported Ferguson’s stance. Carr wrote that Apple has no right to suppress conservative viewpoints in violation of the FTC Act.
Ferguson has urged Apple to conduct a comprehensive review of its terms of service and ensure its content curation is consistent with its policies. He called on the company to take corrective action swiftly if any inconsistencies are found.
The letter comes a day after former President Donald Trump shared the report by the Media Research Center on his social media platform, Truth Social. Trump has repeatedly accused Big Tech companies of censoring right-leaning content, though many major platforms have rolled back several measures to curb misinformation that were in place prior to his return to the White House.
Apple’s relationship with the Trump administration has oscillated between warm and cold over the past year. Trump has criticized Big Tech, especially Apple, for manufacturing its devices in China. However, after Cook promised to spend more than six hundred billion dollars over the next four years on U.S. manufacturing, relations between the administration and the company improved. Apple also dodged planned tariffs on smartphones made overseas and imported into the U.S.
The FTC last year launched an investigation into censorship by tech platforms, seeking input from the public who felt silenced due to their political ideologies. Ferguson said at the time that tech firms should not be bullying their users and that the inquiry would help the FTC understand how these firms may have violated the law.
Apple did not immediately return a request for comment.