FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson sent warning letters to major technology companies, urging them not to weaken data security or censor American consumers' speech in response to foreign government demands. He reminded them that such actions could violate the FTC Act's prohibition on unfair and deceptive practices, particularly if companies break promises about encryption and security. The letters cite foreign laws like the EU's Digital Services Act and UK's Investigatory Powers Act as pressures that might lead to non-compliance.
In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements, customer terms of service, data processing addendums, and any contracts involving cross-border data transfers or government demands. Focus on clauses addressing data security standards, encryption implementations (especially end-to-end encryption), content moderation/censorship policies, compliance with foreign laws, procedures for responding to government or law enforcement requests, and data retention practices. Changes may be needed to add provisions that explicitly prioritize U.S. consumer protections and FTC Act compliance over foreign government demands, require legal challenges to foreign requests that conflict with promised security or speech protections, and update privacy policies to clarify that encryption and data security promises will not be weakened due to foreign pressures.
Entity
Akamai, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Cloudflare, Discord, GoDaddy, Meta, Microsoft, Reddit, Signal, Snap, Slack, X
Also known as: Akamai
Industry
TechnologyOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/08/ftc-chairman-ferguson-warns-companies-against-censoring-or-weakening-data-security-americans-behest
model letter sent tech companies chairman andrew n ferguson
https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/staff-letters/model-letter-sent-tech-companies-chairman-andrew-n-ferguson
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"Akamai, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Cloudflare, Discord, GoDaddy, Meta, Microsoft, Reddit, Signal, Snap, Slack and X."
"FTC Act’s prohibition against unfair and deceptive practices"
"adopts weaker security in response to demands from a foreign government"
The FTC referred a complaint against REPS & Company Inc. and company executives, alleging they bypassed ticket-issuer security controls and purchasing limits to acquire millions of tickets for resale. The complaint was filed by the Department of Justice, and the case will be decided by the court; the press release does not report a penalty or other remedy imposed.
The FTC sued Digital Forensics Corporation LLC and affiliated defendants, alleging they misled sextortion victims with promises of investigative and monitoring services that often were not provided, and used fake positive reviews. A federal court granted the FTC’s request to temporarily halt the defendants’ activities; the complaint remains for the court to decide.
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$1.9M
The FTC alleged that Premier Franchising Group LLC and Franchise Fastlane LLC made deceptive and unsubstantiated claims about the Premier Martial Arts franchise opportunity and violated the Franchise Rule. The proposed settlements require the companies to pay a combined $1.85 million to compensate franchisees, prohibit certain misrepresentations, and require Franchise Rule compliance; certain franchisees may also cancel their agreements without penalty.
The FTC, Utah, and Nevada sued Lens.com Inc., alleging that it advertised artificially low contact lens prices while hiding mandatory checkout charges and misleading consumers about its AutoRefill subscription. The complaint seeks to stop the alleged practices; the court has not yet decided the case, and no penalty or remedy has been imposed.