FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson is on a mission to expose potential collusion between tech giants that threatens free speech and fair competition.
At a Glance
- Ferguson calls for antitrust investigation into tech platforms’ content moderation practices
- He suspects unlawful collusion impacting public debate and free speech
- Ferguson highlights coordinated censorship and advertiser boycotts as areas of concern
- Commissioner advocates using antitrust laws to protect Americans’ ability to engage in public discourse
Ferguson Sounds the Alarm on Tech Collusion
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Andrew Ferguson is taking a bold stance against what he perceives as a threat to free speech and fair competition in the digital realm. Ferguson is calling for a thorough investigation into potential “unlawful collusion” between major tech platforms and advertiser boycotts, which he believes could be stifling competition and public discourse.
The commissioner’s concerns stem from observations of seemingly coordinated content moderation practices among tech giants. Ferguson argues that if these platforms have indeed agreed to censor specific content simultaneously, it could raise serious antitrust issues. This suspicion has led him to advocate for the use of antitrust laws as a tool to protect Americans’ ability to engage in open and free public debate online.
The FTC must protect Americans' freedom of speech online. If platforms or advertisers are colluding to suppress free speech in violation of the antitrust laws, the FTC must prosecute them and break up those cartels. My statement: https://t.co/6DfeqBaZZd pic.twitter.com/69ZffPOIs2
— Andrew Ferguson (@AFergusonFTC) December 3, 2024
Reviving Trump-Era Transparency Measures
In a related development, Commissioner Melissa Holyoak has suggested reviving President Trump’s Executive Order 13925. This order was designed to increase transparency in big tech’s content moderation and censorship practices. The revival of such measures could provide much-needed insight into the decision-making processes behind content removal and account suspensions on major platforms.
Ferguson’s push for investigation goes beyond just the tech platforms themselves. He has highlighted the need to examine structural issues that grant these platforms significant power over public speech. This includes scrutinizing any potential unlawful collusion between online platforms that could lead to the suppression of certain viewpoints or content.
Government-Tech Collaboration Under Scrutiny
The commissioner’s concerns are not unfounded. Ferguson points to the Missouri v. Murthy case, which revealed troubling collaboration between government agencies and big tech companies to suppress dissenting speech. This case has raised alarms about the extent of government influence on private sector content moderation practices.
The FTC's social media report reveals Big Tech's troubling privacy practices, while ignoring Big Tech's censorship and election interference, and doubling down on Big Tech's censorship by pushing AI companies to hire more DEI apparatchiks. My statement: https://t.co/XtDkRfkwXU pic.twitter.com/6jyssX1wKm
— Andrew Ferguson (@AFergusonFTC) September 25, 2024
Ferguson has also set his sights on group advertising boycotts, citing a specific example targeting X (formerly Twitter) led by the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM). He argues that such coordinated actions by advertisers could potentially restrict competition and limit the diversity of speech on platforms.
A Stand Against Censorship
In a strong statement against censorship, Ferguson asserts that even if content moderation practices were made fully transparent, they would still be harmful to democracy. He is calling on the FTC to investigate and dismantle any anti-competitive cartels that promote censorship, emphasizing the importance of preserving free speech in the digital age.
