The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under the leadership of chairman Andrew Ferguson has launched its own probe into Big Tech’s censorship of Americans. This is the initial step, a Request for Information (RFI), that could lead to a full investigation.
The announcement on the FTC website said the goal of the public inquiry is to “better understand” the ways tech companies behind social networks ban users or “degrade” their access based on speech or affiliations.
The Commission wants to establish if such practices may be illegal, in addition to being “un-American” – by preventing people from speaking freely and openly.
In order to arrive at a conclusion, the FTC is inviting those members of the public who have been subjected to banning, shadow banning, demonetization, and other forms of online censorship to submit their comments – but also anyone else who can shed light on the topic, Ferguson said in a post on X.
However, tech companies’ employees who may have witnessed censorship are also urged to submit reports to the Commission.
The process of opening formal investigations often starts with the FTC requesting public comments. The FTC states on its site that comments from the public help better inform this body regarding the efforts related to policy-making, law enforcement, and education.
For several years now, there have been a number of Congressional investigations into the problem of Big Tech’s censorship, notably those exploring the effects on free speech, and on small businesses.
In line with its role, the FTC is coming at the problem from the angle of the possible harm done to consumers and competition – both by stifling the latter and behaving in anti-competitive ways.
The announcement of the RFI noted that major tech companies have been known to make their rules, and the way those are implemented is confusing or unpredictable while censoring users, at times without providing the option of appealing the decision.
The deadline for submitting comments is May 25, and they will afterward be posted on the Regulations.gov site. Those who wish to send a private report can do that via ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
“Tech firms should not be bullying their users. This inquiry will help the FTC better understand how these firms may have violated the law by silencing and intimidating Americans for speaking their minds,” Ferguson is quoted as saying.
