FTC chair questions Tim Cook over claims Apple News sidelines conservative publications

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson is asking Tim Cook to review Apple News’ curation policies after claims that the service suppresses conservative publications. Here are the details.

FTC Chair suggests Apple may be in breach of the FTC Act

A few days ago, conservative watchdog group Media Research Center (MRC) published the results of a study that alleged that Apple had “refrained from using any right-leaning outlets in the top 20 articles” of Apple News’ “morning editions between Jan. 1 and Jan. 31, 2026.”

The study claimed that while Apple News had featured articles “from elitist media outlets that amplify the left’s narrative, […] as well as center outlets,” the same wasn’t true for right-leaning and conservative media.

Today, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson sent a letter to Tim Cook, suggesting that Apple News might be in breach of Section 5 of the FTC Act, which “prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices,” including material misrepresentations and omissions to consumers.

In the letter, Ferguson tells Cook that while the First Amendment “protects the speech of Big Tech firms,” that protection doesn’t extend to situations that Congress may deem unfair under the FTC Act.

From the letter:

“[…] Big Tech companies that suppress or promote news articles in their news aggregators of feeds based on the perceived ideological or political viewpoint of the article or publication may violate the FTC Act if that suppression or promotion (1) is inconsistent with the terms and conditions of service; (2) is contrary to consumers’ reasonable expectations such that failure to disclose the ideological favoritism is a material omission; or (3) when those practices cause substantial injury that is neither reasonably avoidable nor outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers of competition.

Ferguson goes on to point out a MRC study from December 2025, alongside a NY Post story on the more recent MRC study, both of which allege Apple News’ supposed intentional suppression of conservative outlets in favor of left-leaning publications.

Finally, he tells Cook:

As the Chairman of the FTC, I write to inform you of your obligations under the FTC Act. (…) I encourage you to conduct a comprehensive review of Apple’s terms of service and ensure that Apple News’ curation of articles is consistent with those terms and representations made to consumers and, if it is not, to take corrective action swiftly.

So far, Apple has not publicly responded to Ferguson’s letter or the MRC studies.

Do you think Apple News suppresses conservative publications? Let us know in the comments.

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