News4sa, June 2025
The Federal Trade Commission is investigating advertising and media watchdog groups over whether they violated antitrust laws through coordinated boycotts of social media platforms over concerns about brands having their posts appearing online with hateful content. The New York Times reported on Monday that roughly a dozen groups are under investigation from the FTC and have received letters asking for information about “possible collusion.” Organizations that received letters include groups that assist brands with choosing how to place ads online and watchdog groups that have researched hateful content on social media.
It is part of a broader push from FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson to crack down on what he claims is censorship of conservative views online and comes after large companies have cut back on advertising spending on X and other conservative social media platforms over concerns about what kind of content their ads would appear next to. “Drying up the advertising will dry up the idea. So, the risk of an advertiser boycott is a pretty serious risk to the free exchange of ideas,” Ferguson said during an antitrust conference in April.
