As of Tuesday morning, the Trump administration’s Federal Trade Commission had removed four years of business guidance blogs, which included important consumer protection information related to artificial intelligence and landmark privacy lawsuits against companies like Amazon and Microsoft under former chairman Lina Khan. More than 300 blogs have been deleted.
On the FTC website, host all pages of the institution Business-related blogs and guidance No longer included any information posted during the administration of former President Joe Biden, current and former FTC employees, who said on anonymously that they feared retaliation and they spoke on anonymously. These blogs contain FTC’s advice on how big tech companies can avoid violating consumer protection laws.
The blog that is deleted now, titled “Hey, Alexa! Explained how Amazon and its ring security camera products allegedly use sensitive consumer data to train the e-commerce giant’s algorithms, according to two FTC complaints. (Amazon disagrees with the FTC’s claims.) It also provides guidance for companies operating similar products and services. Another post titled “$20 million FTC settlement address Microsoft Xbox illegally collects children’s data: game changer for COPPA compliance” Guide tech companies to take the 2023 Microsoft settlement as an example to comply with children’s online privacy protection laws. The subsequent solution FTC accusations Microsoft of data obtained Children using Xbox without the consent of their parents or guardians.
“In terms of our compliance expectations, the message to the industry is, in some ways, the most important part of law enforcement actions, they are trying to remove these people only from history,” one source familiar.
Another deleted FTC blog titled “Teduction Testing: Projects for AI and Consumer Trust” An overview of how businesses can avoid creating chatbots that violate FTC Act rules to violate unfair or deceptive products. This blog Winning awards in 2023 “Excellent description of artificial intelligence.”
The Trump administration has received extensive support from the technology industry. Large tech companies like Amazon and Meta and tech entrepreneurs such as Openai CEO Sam Altman donated to Trump’s inauguration fund. Other Silicon Valley leaders, such as Elon Musk and David Sacks, are formally advising the government. Musk’s so-called Ministry of Government Efficiency (DOGE) hires technicians from Musk Technology. Moreover, federal agencies like the General Services Administration already have Start launching AI products like Gsaia universal government chatbot.
The FTC did not immediately respond to Wired’s request for comment.
A former FTC official told Wired that the removal of the blog raised serious compliance issues and the Public Government Data Act. Sources said during the Biden administration, FTC leadership placed the label of “warning” above public decisions that the previous administration no longer agreed to, fearing that dismissal would violate the law.
Since President Donald Trump appointed Andrew Ferguson to replace Khan as FTC chair in January, Republican regulators have vowed to use his power to follow big tech companies. However, unlike Khan, Ferguson’s criticism focused on the Republican Party’s Long-term accusations of social media platformssuch as Facebook and Instagram, censoring conservative speeches online. Before being elected as chairman, Ferguson told Trump that his vision for the agency also included rolling back Biden-era AI regulations and stricter merger standards, The New York Times reported in December.
In an interview with CNBC last weekFerguson believes that content moderation may be equivalent to antitrust violations. “If companies stand out through special perspectives because they have special perspectives, that could indicate a competitive problem,” he said.
Sources who spoke with Wired on Tuesday claimed that tech companies were the only group that benefited from deleting the blogs.
“They are talking about a big censorship, but at the end of the day, what really hits the bottom line of these companies is the data they can collect, how to use that data, whether AI models can be trained on that data, and whether the government plans to cancel the footsteps while reviewing the work,” “I think it would be a big technology that would be very satisfying.”
