The U.S. Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) has raised issues over allegations that Apple is censoring conservative content material on the Apple Information app.
In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook dinner, FTC chair Andrew Ferguson cited reports from Media Analysis Heart, a right-leaning suppose tank, which accused Apple of excluding right-leaning retailers from the highest 20 articles within the Apple Information feed.
“These stories elevate severe questions on whether or not Apple Information is appearing in accordance with its phrases of service and its representations to customers […] I abhor and condemn any try to censor content material for ideological causes,” Ferguson’s letter reads.
Ferguson, a Large Tech critic who Trump appointed to steer the competitors regulator, famous the FTC doesn’t have any powers to require Apple to take ideological or political positions when curating information, however he stated that if the corporate’s practices are “inconsistent” its phrases of service or “cheap expectations of customers,” they might be in violation of the FTC Act.
Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Fee (one other Trump appointee important of Large Tech), supported Ferguson’s stance, writing, “Apple has no proper to suppress conservative viewpoints in violation of the FTC Act.”
Ferguson has urged Apple to conduct a “complete evaluation” of its phrases of service and make sure that the content material curated on Apple Information is in keeping with its insurance policies, and “take corrective motion swiftly” if the curation isn’t in line.
The letter comes a day after President Donald Trump shared the report by Media Analysis Heart on his social media platform, Fact Social. Trump has repeatedly accused Large Tech firms of censoring right-leaning content material, although many main platforms have rolled again a number of measures to curb faux information and disinformation that they had imposed within the years previous to his second stint on the White Home.
Techcrunch occasion
Boston, MA
|
June 23, 2026
Apple’s relationship with the Trump administration has oscillated between heat and chilly over the previous 12 months. Trump has criticized Large Tech, particularly Apple, for manufacturing its gadgets in China, however after Cook dinner promised to spend more than $600 billion over the following 4 years Stateside and moved to fix fences, relations between the Administration and the corporate have improved. Apple additionally dodged deliberate tariffs on smartphones made abroad and imported into the U.S.
The FTC final 12 months additionally launched an investigation into “censorship by tech platforms,” searching for enter from the general public who felt they had been silenced as a result of their political ideologies or affiliations. “Tech corporations shouldn’t be bullying their customers,” Ferguson stated on the time. “This inquiry will assist the FTC higher perceive how these corporations could have violated the legislation by silencing and intimidating Individuals for talking their minds.”
Apple didn’t instantly return a request for remark.
Trending Merchandise
