FTC Chairman Raises Concerns That Apple News Is Censoring Conservative Outlets and Promoting Left-Wing Articles

The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, Andrew Ferguson, is raising concerns that Apple’s news aggregation app, Apple News, may violate federal laws prohibiting deceptive practices by allegedly censoring conservative news outlets. In a post on X, Mr. Ferguson said he sent a letter to Apple “expressing my concerns about allegations that Apple News has, unbeknownst to its users, systematically promoted news articles from left-wing news outlets and suppressed content from conservative publications.”Mr. Ferguson — who was appointed to the FTC by President Biden and named its chairman by President Trump — has frequently spoken out about allegations of censorship of conservatives by Big Tech companies. Last February, he launched a public inquiry into allegations that technology platforms were engaging in “potentially illegal” content moderation and censoring users based on their “speech or affiliations.”In his letter to Apple, he noted that Apple News comes pre-installed on its devices and “purports to be the most used news app in the United States.”He mentioned “recent reports” that Apple News has “systematically promoted news articles from left-wing news outlets and suppressed news articles from more conservative publications.”“Indeed, multiple studies have found that in recent months, Apple News has chosen not to feature a single article from an American conservative-leaning news source, while simultaneously promoting hundreds of articles from liberal publications,” Mr. Ferguson said. “These reports raise serious questions about whether Apple News is acting in accordance with its terms of service and its representation to consumers.”Mr. Ferguson said the FTC is “not the speech police” and does not “have the authority to require Apple or any other firm to take affirmative positions on any political issues, nor to curate news offerings consistent with one ideology or another.”However, he said any “act or practice by Apple News to suppress or promote news articles based on perceived ideological or political viewpoint of the article or publication, if inconsistent with Apple’s terms of service or the reasonable expectations of consumers, may violate the FTC Act.”He encouraged Apple to “conduct a comprehensive review” of its terms of service to “ensure that Apple News’ curation of articles is consistent with those terms and representations made to consumers,” and if it is not, he urged the company to “take corrective action swiftly.”Section 5 of the FTC Act prohibits deceptive acts or unfair practices. A violation of the FTC Act can lead to fines that can accrue daily if the violations continue.The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, shared Mr. Ferguson’s letter on X and wrote, “FTC Chairman Ferguson is exactly right.”“Apple has no right to suppress conservative viewpoints in violation of the FTC Act,” he said.Apple did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.

FTC Chairman Raises Concerns That Apple News Is Censoring Conservative Outlets and Promoting Left-Wing Articles

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