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(I wonder why the FTC is not also calling out US states, like Mississippi,
who are also enacting "online safety" laws? -- Mike)

FTC calls on big tech to resist UK and EU demands to weaken encryption and
censor content

Date:
Wed, 27 Aug 2025 11:38:11 +0000

Description:
FTC Chair Andrew 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."

FULL STORY

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.

======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/computing/cyber-security/ftc-calls-on-big-tech-to-re
sist-uk-and-eu-demands-to-weaken-encryption-and-censor-content

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