The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission has issued a warning letter to Apple, calling on it to review its curation of news articles to see if its Apple News is freezing out media outlets on the right, and to take “corrective action” if that is the case.
The letter from FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson is the latest instance of Trump administration efforts to try to pressure private entities over their content choices.
In this case, Ferguson cites a study from Media Research Center, a conservative watchdog group, that has been monitoring the news choices on Apple News. According to MRC, in January, Apple News “refrained from using any right-leaning outlets in the top 20 articles of its morning editions between Jan. 1 and Jan. 31, 2026.” The right leaning sources were identified as Fox News, the New York Post, Daily Mail, Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit.
Instead, according to MRC, Apple News featured “articles from elitist media outlets that amplify the left’s narrative, like: The Washington Post, The Associated Press and NBC News as well as center outlets like The Wall Street Journal and Reuters.” MRC said that it used the AllSides media bias ratings.
Outlets like the Post, the Journal and The Associated Press have long identified as nonpartisan. Although they have been attacked by Trump and the White House, the administration will cite them as sources when stories are favorable to the president.
In his letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Ferguson raises the prospect that Apple News’ choice of stories may violate the FTC Act, arguing that the suppression or promotion of stories “based on the perceived ideological or political viewpoint of the article or publication” may be “inconsistent” with Apple’s terms of service or the “reasonable expectations of consumers.”
He wrote, “The FTC is not the speech police; we do not have the authority to require Apple or any other firm to take affirmative positions on any political issue, nor to curate news offerings consistent with one ideology or another. But Congress mandated that we protect consumers from material misrepresentations or omissions, including when the product or service offered to consumers is a speech-related product.” While Ferguson cited Apple’s terms of service broadly, he did not cite specific language that may put the company in a potential FTC violation.
An Apple spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
Since becoming FTC chairman, Ferguson has sought to investigate Media Matters, a progressive media watchdog. A federal judge found that the FTC’s civil investigative demand on Media Matters was retaliation in violation of the First Amendment, and an appellate court declined to reverse that ruling.
Last week, the media rating service NewsGuard sued Ferguson and the FTC, claiming that its antitrust investigation was an effort to use the agency’s regulatory authority to stifle its speech. Newsmax had given a low reliability score to Newsmax, the conservative outlet.
Cook has sought to praise Trump, presenting him with a glass plaque and 24-carat gold base last year, as the company sought protection from the president’s tariffs.