FTC warns US tech companies: “Be aware of weakening data security by foreign powers”

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reminded American tech companies of their obligations to protect the privacy of American consumers despite pressure from foreign governments to weaken security safeguards.

“I am concerned that these actions by foreign powers to impose censorship and weaken end-to-end encryption will erode Americans’ freedoms and subject them to myriad harms, such as surveillance by foreign governments and an increased risk of identity theft and fraud,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson wrote in a letter to a dozen tech companies, including Akamai, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Cloudflare, Discord, GoDaddy, Meta, Microsoft, Signal, Snap, Slack, and X.

According to Ferguson, foreign governments have made numerous attempts to pressure American companies to weaken data security, including through the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act and Investigatory Powers Act.

For example, in February of this year, Apple received a so-called Technical Capabilities Notice (TCN) from the British government, ordering the American tech company to provide backdoor access to end-to-end encrypted data stored in users’ iCloud accounts. Last week, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard wrote on X that the UK dropped its mandate to provide a backdoor.

Ferguson also expressed concern that American tech companies might “attempt to simplify compliance” with foreign governments' laws, demands, or expected demands by subjecting Americans to foreign surveillance.

The FTC Chairman reminded American tech companies that they’re required to comply with the FTC Act, which prohibits US companies from engaging in unfair and deceptive practices in the marketplace. Weakening encryption or other security measures to implement weaker security safeguards to comply with foreign laws violates this legislation.

Lastly, Ferguson invited the recipients to meet with him on Thursday, August 28th, 2025, to discuss foreign regulatory pressure and how to honor privacy and security commitments of American consumers under US law and legislation.