FTC Investigation Requested Into Apple News
The Media Research Center (MRC) is urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate possible unfair business practices by Apple News, which is the default news aggregator on Apple devices. The group claims that Apple News shows a significant bias, favoring liberal outlets while sidelining conservative ones.
In January alone, MRC analyzed a total of 620 articles on Apple News and found that 440 were from left-leaning sources, 180 from centrist sources, and notably, none were from right-leaning media. This has raised alarms about the platform’s content selection process.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson has taken note of the claims, sending a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, suggesting that Apple News may be in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, which addresses unfair trade practices.
Concerns Over Content Selection
David Bozell, MRC’s chairman, has formally requested an investigation into Apple News. In a letter to Ferguson, Bozell expressed concerns that Apple has misled both consumers and news publishers regarding the app’s features and policies. He pointed out several issues, such as whether users can select which news organizations appear in their feeds and whether publishers are allowed to apply to be featured within the app. He also questioned if Apple is misrepresenting the variety of viewpoints presented on Apple News.
Bozell noted that since Ferguson’s communication with Cook, further evidence has emerged. He referenced Apple’s statement claiming that users could customize their experience by blocking specific publications, which the MRC’s research found to be misleading. According to Bozell, not only can users not block outlets, but this restriction is also an intentional design choice by Apple.
Furthermore, he raised concerns that the MRC’s own platform, News Busters, was denied a chance to be represented on Apple News, which seems contradictory to Apple’s claims about encouraging publisher participation.
This situation has fueled suspicions about whether Apple’s transparency regarding the app’s usage and its diversity of content is, in fact, misleading for right-leaning publishers. Bozell emphasized that during a 99-day stretch, Apple News featured no right-leaning outlets while showcasing over 1,300 left-leaning ones.
The ongoing scrutiny has shown patterns suggesting that Apple might purposely confuse consumers about the range of perspectives available on its platform.
Potential Anti-Competitive Practices
Bozell also criticized Apple for possibly employing anti-competitive practices that could harm its competitors. With more than half of smartphones in the U.S. being manufactured by Apple, users frequently encounter the Apple News app by default, often without actively selecting it. This can lead to an unfair advantage over rival news applications. Additionally, Bozell mentioned that attempts to modify settings to reduce Apple News’s prominence often go unnoticed, further complicating user preference.
In light of these developments, Bozell requested that the European Commission investigate if Apple has mischaracterized how users can navigate content within the app, how publisher participation is handled, or if there are unfair practices that might breach competition laws.
As of now, Apple has not provided a comment on these allegations.
