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

Source: 9to5Mac

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

Background

A few days ago, conservative watchdog group Media Research Center (MRC) published the results of a study that alleged Apple “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 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.

FTC Letter to Tim Cook

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.

“Big Tech companies that suppress or promote news articles in their news aggregators or 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.”
— Andrew Ferguson, FTC Chair (February 11 2026)
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Ferguson also referenced the MRC study from December 2025 and a New York Post story covering the same research, both alleging that Apple News intentionally suppresses conservative outlets in favor of left‑leaning publications.

Apple’s Response

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