- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair wrote a letter to 13 US tech giants, calling on them to resist foreign demands to weaken encryption or censor content
- FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson specifically mentions the EU Digital Service Act, UK Online Safety Act, and UK Investigatory Powers Act as problematic
- The pledge comes days after the US managed to get the UK to drop the encryption backdoor demand against Apple
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is calling on US tech giants to resist foreign demands to either weaken the security of their users by breaking encryption protections or impose censorship on their platforms.
On Thursday, August 21, 2025, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson wrote a letter to 13 tech companies, including Apple, Alphabet (parent firm behind Google), Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon.
Ferguson specifically mentions the EU Digital Service Act, UK Online Safety Act, and UK Investigatory Powers Act as attempts to “censor content or degrade security for users.” These actions, he warns, could also violate Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act that prohibits unfair or deceptive acts, while eroding Americans’ freedoms and online security.
“Foreign governments seeking to limit free expression or weaken data security in the United States might count on the fact that companies have an incentive to simplify their operations and legal compliance measures by applying uniform policies across jurisdictions,” wrote Ferguson.
This pledge comes only days after the US officials managed to score a win and made the UK agree to drop its encryption backdoor request against Apple, which was issued back in February via a Technical Capability Notice (TCN) under the 2016 Investigatory Powers Act.
A greater push for control
The UK and the EU have pushed for greater control over the internet in the name of safety over the last few years, crafting legislation that often requires US tech providers to adjust their services.
There are two main areas of contention: encryption and harmful, but legal, content.
Encryption refers to the technology used by security software like the best VPN apps, secure email, and encrypted messaging apps to keep online communications private between you and the receiver.
While that’s a crucial protection – especially as major cyberattacks like Salt Typhoon become the norm – authorities see this as an obstacle to criminal investigation and are pushing for the creation of backdoors into encrypted software.
The likes of Signal and WhatsApp have already voiced their concerns against laws and proposals such as the UK Online Safety Act and EU Chat Control.
US tech firms and officials alike have also been raising concerns about new UK and EU requirements to mitigate online dangers by halting the spread of misinformation and content that could harm minors.
These frictions led the Trump administration to consider imposing sanctions on the EU for censoring Americans and imposing higher costs on US tech firms under its Digital Service Act – Reuters reported on Monday, August 26.
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