The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), led by Chair Andrew Ferguson, has issued a directive to major U.S. technology companies including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet, emphasizing their obligation to safeguard American privacy rights against foreign laws that could undermine encryption and free speech protections. Ferguson specifically cited the European Union's Digital Service Act, the United Kingdom's Online Safety Act, and the UK Investigatory Powers Act as examples of legislation that could censor content or weaken security for users. The FTC's stance underscores that American companies must not comply with foreign demands that degrade privacy or free speech, and some advocates suggest that companies should challenge such foreign censorship orders in U.S. federal courts to make compliance costly. Meanwhile, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) highlighted the need for laws that compel technology companies to protect biometric privacy, warning that without such regulations, companies will continue to profit from private information. Although facial recognition technology remains unregulated at the federal level, 23 U.S. states have enacted or expanded laws restricting the mass collection of biometric data. The FTC's message reflects growing concerns over the intersection of international regulatory frameworks and the protection of American users' digital privacy rights.
While facial recognition tech remains unregulated at the US federal level, 23 states have passed or expanded laws to restrict mass scraping of biometric data (@bobbyallyn / NPR) https://t.co/ve7xaSCjfx https://t.co/I7yfkSj1zx 📫 Subscribe: https://t.co/OyWeKSRpIM
I would positively encourage any American company that gets a demand from any foreign censor, whatever country they’re from, to immediately sue that censor in U.S. federal court. Rumble got an order that Brazilian orders were not effective on U.S. soil and so can you
I would positively encourage any American company that gets a demand from any foreign censor, wherever they’re from, to immediately sue that censor in U.S. federal court Make the cost of touching Americans prohibitive