{"id":37970,"date":"2025-05-21T16:15:24","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T16:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/?p=37970"},"modified":"2025-05-21T16:15:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T16:15:24","slug":"public-knowledge-refutes-censorship-claims-urges-ftc-to-protect-consumers-and-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/public-knowledge-refutes-censorship-claims-urges-ftc-to-protect-consumers-and-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Knowledge Refutes \u201cCensorship\u201d Claims, Urges FTC To Protect Consumers and Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Yesterday, Public Knowledge <a href=\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/policy\/public-knowledge-ftc-comments-on-technology-platform-censorship\/\">filed comments<\/a> in response to the Federal Trade Commission\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/02\/federal-trade-commission-launches-inquiry-tech-censorship\">request<\/a> for public comment on \u201ctechnology platform censorship,\u201d which the agency describes as \u201chow technology platforms deny or degrade users\u2019 access to services based on the content of their speech or affiliations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The comments argue that no empirical evidence to date supports any claim that content moderation unfairly targets specific political viewpoints on technology platforms. The comments also explain why platforms\u2019 content policies reflect the tensions inherent in their advertising-based business model and the need to satisfy both their users and advertisers \u2013 not censorship. Finally, the comments contend that competition, not FTC intervention in content moderation practices, best preserves free expression for all users. Public Knowledge cautions the FTC from intervening in moderation decisions \u2013 protected by the First Amendment \u2013 and urges the agency to focus on protecting consumers from the outsized power of dominant platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following can be attributed to Morgan Wilsmann, Policy Analyst at Public Knowledge:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe FTC has no role to play in policing how platforms moderate content. Content moderation is <em>not<\/em> censorship; it\u2019s a lawful exercise of editorial discretion, protected by the First Amendment and essential for free expression online. Mislabeling these decisions as \u2018censorship\u2019 distracts from the real issue: the concentrated power of a few dominant platforms that shape the rules of online discourse.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf we\u2019re serious about giving users more agency over their expression online, the answer isn\u2019t more government control over speech \u2013 it\u2019s structural reform. This means promoting competition, including by encouraging interoperability and decentralized social media alternatives. It also means enforcing platform commitments to their users, and holding those platforms to account when they fail to deliver their promised services.\u201d<br><br>You may view the <a href=\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/policy\/public-knowledge-ftc-comments-on-technology-platform-censorship\/\">comments<\/a> for more information, as well as our corresponding articles, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/what-does-research-tell-us-about-technology-platform-censorship\/\">What Does Research Tell Us About Technology Platform \u2018Censorship\u2019?<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/the-conservative-political-playbook-driving-the-ftc-platform-censorship-inquiry\/\">The Conservative Political Playbook Driving the FTC Platform Censorship Inquiry<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yesterday, Public Knowledge filed comments in response to the Federal Trade Commission\u2019s request for public comment on \u201ctechnology platform censorship,\u201d which the agency describes as \u201chow technology platforms deny or degrade users\u2019 access to services based on the content of their speech or affiliations.\u201d The comments argue that no empirical evidence to date supports any [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[11,14],"class_list":["post-37970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release","tag-content-moderation","tag-platform-regulation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.5 (Yoast SEO v26.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Public Knowledge Refutes \u201cCensorship\u201d Claims, Urges FTC To Protect Consumers and Competition - Public Knowledge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/public-knowledge-refutes-censorship-claims-urges-ftc-to-protect-consumers-and-competition\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Public Knowledge Refutes \u201cCensorship\u201d Claims, Urges FTC To Protect Consumers and Competition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. 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