How ’24 Statements Show FTC’s Direction On Political Speech

Types : Bylined Articles

In the early days of the second Trump administration, the Federal Trade Commission initiated several investigations directed at alleged viewpoint-based online content restrictions and suspected collusion in advertiser boycotts.

Its investigation into Media Matters has encountered judicial resistance on First Amendment grounds, but the FTC is expected to continue to initiate investigations of entities viewed as suppressing political speech, as this is consistent with a broader enforcement program described by two commissioners in late 2024.

The Media Matters Investigation
On May 20, the FTC sent a civil investigative demand to Media Matters, a nonprofit organization that describes its mission as monitoring, analyzing and correcting misinformation in the U.S. media.

In denying Media Matters’ request to quash the CID, the FTC stated that the Media Matters CID was one of 17 CIDs issued as part of the FTC’s investigation into whether entities conspired to interfere with the placement of advertisements on news outlets and media platforms “under the guise of promoting ‘brand suitability’ and ‘brand safety’ against ‘misinformation.'”