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 Middle, a right-leaning suppose tank, which accused Apple of excluding right-leaning shops from the highest 20 articles within the Apple Information feed.
“These reviews increase critical questions on whether or not Apple Information is performing 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 Massive 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 mentioned that if the corporate’s practices are “inconsistent” its phrases of service or “affordable 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 Massive 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 overview” of its phrases of service and be certain 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 Middle on his social media platform, Fact Social. Trump has repeatedly accused Massive Tech firms of censoring right-leaning content material, although many main platforms have rolled again a number of measures to curb pretend information and disinformation that they had imposed within the years previous to his second stint on the White Home.
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June 23, 2026
Apple’s relationship with the Trump administration has oscillated between heat and chilly over the previous yr. Trump has criticized Massive Tech, particularly Apple, for manufacturing its gadgets in China, however after Cook dinner promised to spend greater 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 yr additionally launched an investigation into “censorship by tech platforms,” in search of enter from the general public who felt they have been silenced attributable to their political ideologies or affiliations. “Tech corporations shouldn’t be bullying their customers,” Ferguson mentioned on the time. “This inquiry will assist the FTC higher perceive how these corporations might have violated the legislation by silencing and intimidating People for talking their minds.”
Apple didn’t instantly return a request for remark.
