FTC Warns Big Tech Not to Weaken U.S. Privacy Under Foreign Pressure

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson has warned over a dozen leading tech companies not to undermine American privacy and free speech by complying with censorship or anti-encryption demands from foreign governments.

The warning comes amid growing global regulatory pressure from the European Union and the United Kingdom, whose recent laws may encourage the censorship of online speech and weaken end-to-end encryption protections.

The FTC’s letters to companies such as Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and X show concerns that compliance with foreign laws, like the EU’s Digital Services Act or the UK’s Online Safety Act, could lead to violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive business practices.

Ferguson reminded companies that weakening data security in response to foreign laws may deceive American consumers and leave them vulnerable to surveillance, fraud, and identity theft.

Why It Matters: This is a rare and direct confrontation by a U.S. regulator over foreign digital laws, signaling that American companies may face federal action for actions taken abroad. It sets the stage for a broader global clash over online speech, surveillance, and encryption, particularly as nations develop contradictory tech governance frameworks.

• FTC Pushes Back Against Foreign Censorship Laws: FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson explicitly named the European Union’s Digital Services Act and the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act as examples of foreign laws that could drive U.S. tech companies to engage in global censorship, including of American citizens. These laws, framed as efforts to improve safety and content moderation, may compel companies to restrict lawful speech outside of those regions. Ferguson emphasized that any move to preemptively censor content to comply with such foreign laws could violate American legal protections and mislead U.S. consumers about the openness of the platforms they use.

• Legal Risks for Weakening Encryption or Data Security: Ferguson warned that U.S. firms face potential legal consequences under Section 5 of the FTC Act if they alter or dilute their promised data security practices due to foreign government demands. For instance, if a company claims to offer end-to-end encryption but secretly introduces backdoors or weakens protections to comply with UK or EU law enforcement access requests, it may be considered a deceptive or unfair business practice in the U.S. The FTC has historically prosecuted similar cases involving misrepresentation of consumer data protections, and Ferguson made it clear that foreign compliance does not exempt firms from U.S. accountability.

• Surveillance and Identity Theft Among Core Concerns: Ferguson stressed that foreign-driven mandates to compromise encryption could expose American consumers to a range of risks, including surveillance by non-U.S. governments, identity theft, and fraud. By reducing the effectiveness of encryption, companies could inadvertently give malicious actors, including foreign intelligence agencies, greater access to sensitive personal data. The letter warns that American users, unaware of the changes made to appease overseas authorities, would be at greater risk and potentially left without legal recourse.

• Major Tech Platforms Targeted: The letters were sent to a broad range of influential tech companies across multiple sectors including Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Signal, Cloudflare, Snap, Discord, Reddit, GoDaddy, Slack, Akamai, and X. These companies represent the backbone of the U.S. digital ecosystem, and Ferguson’s outreach reflects an effort to impose uniform accountability regarding user privacy and free speech for American consumers.

• Political and Diplomatic Tensions Reflect Broader Policy Divide: The FTC’s stance aligns with conservative critiques of both foreign and domestic censorship, echoing concerns about the misuse of tech policy. Ferguson also implicitly criticized the Biden administration’s relationship with tech platforms regarding content moderation, contrasting it with Donald Trump’s executive orders and policy approach, which prioritized non-interference in online speech. The letter also comes shortly after reports that Vice President JD Vance and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard pressured the UK government to drop a demand for encryption backdoors from Apple, highlighting how U.S. policy may increasingly clash with allied democracies over digital freedoms.

Go Deeper -> FTC Chairman Ferguson Warns Companies Against Censoring or Weakening the Data Security of Americans at the Behest of Foreign Powers – Federal Trade Commission

FTC warns tech companies not to weaken encryption, free speech practices for foreign governments – Cyberscoop

US warns tech companies against complying with European and British ‘censorship’ laws – The Record