FTC Chair Tells Tech Giants to Hold the Line on Encryption

Source: Zoonar GmbH via Alamy Stock Photo

NEWS BRIEF

Andrew Ferguson, chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), warned US Tech companies in a written letter to hold the line when it comes to foreign governments cracking down on encryption. 

In the letter, Ferguson stressed that online platforms have become "critical to public discourse" and that "pervasive online censorship in recent years has outraged the American people." He criticized the efforts of several countries, including the UK, that have implemented laws and policies in recent years requiring tech companies to provide backdoor access to encrypted data and communications.

"Foreign governments present emerging and ongoing threats to the free exchange of ideas," Ferguson wrote. "Companies might be censoring Americans in response to the laws, demands, or expected demands of foreign powers. And the anti-encryption policies of foreign governments might be causing companies to weaken data security measures and other technological means for Americans to vindicate their right to anonymous and private speech."

He cited examples of foreign governments pressuring companies to censor content or degrade security measures, including the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) and the UK's Online Safety Act and it's Investigatory Powers Act. The pressure from the UK government led Apple earlier this year to remove Advanced Data Protection, a privacy feature, for users in the country.

He also warned that complying with "misguided international regulatory requirements" potentially violates Section 5 of the FTC Act in myriad ways, most of which involve deceiving consumers. 

"If a company promises consumers that it encrypts or otherwise keeps secure online communications but adopts weaker security due to the actions of a foreign government, such conduct may deceive consumers who rightfully expect effective security, not the increased susceptibility to breach or intercept desired by a foreign power," added Ferguson.

The letters were sent to executives at Akamai, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Cloudflare, Discord, GoDaddy, Meta, Microsoft, Signal, Snap, Slack, and X. 

The letters went out the same week that Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, announced that the US was successful in its negotiations with UK leaders to drop their demands for Apple to provide law enforcement with access to encrypted user cloud data for investigations.