The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an inquiry on big tech censorship, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson announced.
“Big Tech censorship is not just un-American, it is potentially illegal. The FTC wants your help to investigate these potential violations of the law. We are asking for public submissions from anyone who has been a victim of tech censorship (banning, demonetization, shadow banning, etc.), from employees of tech platforms, or from anyone else who can shed light on these practices and the ways in which they may violate the law,” he wrote on X.
Ferguson added that the inquiry is an “important step forward in restoring free speech and making sure Americans no longer suffer under the tyranny of Big Tech — PERMANENTLY.”
Ferguson invited users who have been “banned, shadow banned, demonetized, or otherwise censored” to submit a comment on the matter.”
“The FTC is interested in understanding how consumers—including by potentially unfair or deceptive acts or practices, or potentially unfair methods of competition—have been harmed by the policies of tech firms,” the FTC announced.
The public has until May 21, 2025 to submit a comment.
Public comments aid the FTC in learning about “new technologies and business practices, consider diverse points of view, and improve the quality of our policy-making, law enforcement and education efforts,” its website states.
In its request for public comment document, the FTC asks members of the public and current and former tech platform employees questions such as, “What specific adverse actions did the platform take?” and “At the time of the adverse actions, did the platforms have policies or make other public-facing representations about how they would regulate, censor, or moderate users’ conduct on and off the platform?”
