21 September 2026

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is ramping up its scrutiny of content moderation practices used by social media and other digital platforms. In a February 2025 inquiry, the regulator is asking for public input on whether and how technology platforms may be censoring, demonetizing, or otherwise degrading access to users and content based on speech or affiliations.

The FTC, which is charged with protecting consumers and competitive practices, is studying how and why platforms use algorithms, data analytics, or artificial intelligence to detect and remove harmful or rule-breaking content. The question now is whether it will push for platforms to come clean about how those systems work.

"The inquiry asks the public to weigh in on how technology companies are exercising their power to effectively act as gatekeepers on the internet by removing, downgrading, or denying access to their services in response to users' speech or conduct," FTC Chair Rebecca Slaughter said in a statement.

The regulator's Request for Information (RFI), which it released alongside the inquiry, seeks to capture the first hand experiences of millions of users and creators whose access to online platforms has been restricted. The RFI explicitly calls for examples of users being banned, indefinitely shadow banned, demonetized, stripped of prominent status, or otherwise censored, especially when motivated by political views or demographics. That suggests the FTC may be looking for company practices that fuel or reflect bias, which could be unjustified or illegal under multiple policy regimes. It also asks about the efficacy of user appeals of platform moderation and the scope of platform transparency.

The RFI comes on top of an FTC report published in 2024 that already noted the widespread use of AI in social media and video company operations. More specifically, it discovered that the firms disclosed using automated or algorithmic tools, including AI, to inform moderation and the role of content in advertising.

The interplay of algorithms and advertising is likely to be of great interest to policymakers. Figures published in the Agency's 2024 report on social media moderation show how these firms use data analytics and AI to make profit and strategic decisions. Data analytics, for one, was noted as a key tool in content oversight. And algorithmic considerations were specifically flagged in platform advertising practices, suggesting moderation could be disproportionately impacting monetization.

Congressional and Regulatory Context

H.R. 3611, a congressional bill introduced in 2021, would mandate that online platforms like social media and video sites disclose automated content moderation practices. If passed, it would require platforms to submit annual transparency reports, lay out moderation terms, and enable users to ask for case-by-case mismoderation. It seeks to empower users with knowledge about where and why platforms are making content decisions.

Outside of this bill, the FTC itself has proposed or finalized regulations to combat certain AI-related consumer harms, and its materials specify that companies should hold themselves accountable for the outputs of automated tools. For example, the agency says firms should rigorously test algorithms, openly describe their content moderation and transparency practices, and clearly disclose all impacts on consumer perception.

Unsurprisingly, tangible steps to make algorithms less impenetrable could have major operational and cost implications for platform business. If the FTC were to declare that automated decisions might mislead, the company could be on the hook for whatever goes wrong. And handling the ticklish technical task of auditing a live, black-box algorithm isn't a simple fix.

The FTC's push, coming via an enquiry and built on earlier work, represents a mounting pressure for platforms to modernize how they tell users about their moderation practices. But the investigation is in its early stages, and it's unclear what regulations or enforcement authority the FTC may ultimately pursue. Congressional action is also hard to predict, with climate-driven digital safety fights now threatening major tech oversight. Unpacking the core moderation algorithms that fuel engagement and ad revenue on some of the world's largest platforms could require negotiation on a scale and scope never before seen. With sweeping infringement authority, aggrieved speakers would then be equipped to pull back the curtain on billions of dollars worth of behind-the-scenes automation, forever reshaping the terrain of digital moderation policy.