The U.S. Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) has raised considerations over allegations that Apple is censoring conservative content material on the Apple Information app.
In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Prepare dinner, FTC chair Andrew Ferguson cited studies 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 studies elevate severe questions on whether or not Apple Information is performing in accordance with its phrases of service and its representations to shoppers […] I abhor and condemn any try and 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 “cheap expectations of shoppers,” they might be in violation of the FTC Act.
Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Fee (one other Trump appointee vital 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 assessment” of its phrases of service and make sure that the content material curated on Apple Information is per 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, Reality Social. Trump has repeatedly accused Massive Tech corporations of censoring right-leaning content material, although many main platforms have rolled again a number of measures to curb pretend information and disinformation they’d 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 Prepare 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,” looking for enter from the general public who felt they have been silenced as a result of their political ideologies or affiliations. “Tech companies shouldn’t be bullying their customers,” Ferguson mentioned on the time. “This inquiry will assist the FTC higher perceive how these companies might have violated the legislation by silencing and intimidating People for talking their minds.”
Apple didn’t instantly return a request for remark.
