Big Tech companies thought they could censor conservatives forever.
The Trump Administration just ended that game.
And Apple was put on notice for this sick anti-conservative bias by the FTC.
FTC warns Apple over anti-conservative bias in News app
Apple's cozy relationship with Trump just hit a wall.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson fired off a warning letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook that could blow up into one of the biggest consumer protection battles of Trump's second term.
The letter came one day after the New York Post highlighted a Media Research Center study showing Apple News featured exactly zero conservative outlets in its top stories during January 2026.
Not one.
Out of 620 stories handpicked by Apple's editorial team, 440 came from left-wing outlets like The Washington Post, NBC News, and The Guardian.
The remaining 180 came from centrist outlets like The Wall Street Journal.
Fox News, The New York Post, and every other right-leaning publication got completely shut out.
"These reports raise serious questions about whether Apple News is acting in accordance with its terms of service and its representations to consumers," Ferguson wrote in a letter obtained by The Post.
The FTC chairman pointed to Section 5 of the FTC Act, which "prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices" including material misrepresentations and omissions to consumers.
Ferguson urged Cook to "conduct a comprehensive review of Apple's terms of service and ensure that Apple News' curation of articles is consistent with those terms and representations made to consumers."
Apple's bias streak goes back to November
MRC's research revealed Apple News went 96 straight days without featuring a single conservative publication in its top stories since November 5, 2025, when Apple linked to British outlet The Telegraph for a story about Sudan.
The breakdown for January was damning.
Apple News featured 72 articles from The Washington Post, 54 from the Associated Press, 50 from NBC News, 34 from The Guardian, and 25 from NPR.
All outlets rated as left-leaning by AllSides, a nonpartisan organization that uses multi-partisan expert panels and blind surveys to establish media bias ratings.
"Almost half of voting-age Americans own an Apple iPhone," Schneider explained, and every single one comes pre-installed with Apple News.
"Most people don't even know they are being fed a steady stream of leftist narratives."
Julie Mastrine, director of AllSides' media bias rating system, wasn't surprised by the findings.
"The bottom line is that Americans that are relying on these Big Tech companies to provide them with news are not getting a balanced view and they're not getting the full scope of perspectives available," Mastrine said.
Schneider went further, calling the bias "a subliminal form of propaganda, paid for with corporate dollars but without campaign finance disclosures" that "could be illegal."
Ferguson's anti-censorship crusade targets Silicon Valley elites
Ferguson launched his inquiry into tech censorship in February 2025 to figure out how tech firms violated the law by silencing Americans.
The Apple News investigation fits perfectly into that broader mission.
"Any act or practice by Apple News to suppress or promote news articles based on the perceived ideological or political viewpoint of the article or publication, if inconsistent with Apple's terms of service or the reasonable expectations of consumers, may violate the FTC Act," Ferguson wrote.
Ferguson made clear he abhors censorship as both a regulator and an American citizen.
"As an American citizen, I abhor and condemn any attempt to censor content for ideological reasons," he stated.
"Such efforts, whether taken to appease overzealous activists, at the behest of foreign governments, or simply to advance the political views of Silicon Valley elites, stifle the free exchange of ideas, manipulate the public discourse and are inconsistent with American values."
In August 2025, Ferguson warned tech companies not to censor Americans or weaken data security to appease foreign governments pushing laws like the EU's Digital Services Act.
Ferguson's also investigating whether tech platforms violated antitrust laws through coordinated content moderation that suppressed conservative voices.
The Apple investigation puts Tim Cook in an impossible position.
Cook worked hard to maintain good relations with Trump since the President returned to office.
But Ferguson's letter shows the FTC won't give Apple a pass just because Cook plays nice with Trump.
The First Amendment protects Apple's speech, Ferguson noted.
But that protection "has never extended its protection to material misrepresentations made to consumers, nor does it immunize speakers from conduct that Congress has deemed unfair under the FTC Act, even if that conduct involves speech."
Apple claims users can "tailor the app to their interests by choosing to follow or block specific publications or topics."
But MRC President David Bozell's testing revealed Apple editors can override blocked sources.
The customization option is meaningless when Apple's editorial team controls what appears in high-traffic featured slots that millions of users see first thing in the morning.
Ferguson's warning shot could force Apple to choose between appeasing its left-wing employees and editors or facing massive FTC fines for deceiving consumers.
Civil penalties under the FTC Act can reach $53,088 per violation.
With millions of iPhone users affected daily over 96+ consecutive days, the math gets ugly fast for Apple's bottom line.
Cook thought he could have it both ways — maintain his company's woke credentials while staying on Trump's good side.
Ferguson just showed him that game is over.
Sources:
- Thomas Barrabi, "FTC chairman warns that political bias in Apple News app may violate consumer protection laws," New York Post, February 11, 2026.
- Barrett Media, "Apple News Biased Against Conservative Media, New MRC Study Suggests," February 10, 2026.
- Fox Business, "Apple News boosts left-leaning news outlets, shuts out conservative sources: watchdog," February 10, 2026.
- The Hill, "FTC launches probe into 'Big Tech censorship,'" February 20, 2025.
- Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, "FTC Chair Requests Information on Big Tech 'Censorship,'" February 2025.
