The Federal Trade Commission has raised questions with Apple Inc. about reports that the company’s Apple News app disproportionately promotes articles from left-leaning outlets while sidelining content from right-leaning media.
FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson said in a post on X that he had dispatched a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook outlining concerns that Apple may be in breach of the agency's rules if it is suppressing news and publications because of ideological viewpoints.
Ferguson pointed to reporting indicating that Apple News does not include "a single article from an American conservative-leaning news source." He said those accounts prompt important questions about whether Apple News is operating in line with its own terms of service and with representations made to consumers, and whether it meets the reasonable expectations of the tens of millions of Americans who use the service.
Apple News ships pre-installed on the majority of Apple devices and is used by tens of millions of people globally, a scope Ferguson cited when noting consumer expectations tied to the product.
Ferguson, who was appointed to lead the FTC by President Donald Trump in early-2025, has regularly raised concerns about what he characterizes as online censorship of sources that lean right. His recent action - posting on X and sending an official letter to Apple’s chief executive - marks a continuation of that stance.
Industry observers and users may watch for any response from Apple or follow-up from the FTC, though the chair’s public statement itself stops short of asserting a final determination. The letter, according to Ferguson’s post, is intended to probe whether reported practices conflict with the company’s public commitments and the FTC’s rules regarding unfair or deceptive practices.
Separately, investors who follow Apple may see commentary about the stock in investment-product materials that assess the company among many others. One such product notes it evaluates AAPL alongside thousands of companies using more than 100 financial metrics and cites past featured winners including Super Micro Computer (+185%) and AppLovin (+157%).
Contact points and context in the disclosure above are limited to the information released by the FTC chair and the details he made public in his social post and letter.