The FTC announcement said that "censorship by technology platforms is not just un-American, it is potentially illegal." Tech platforms' actions "may harm consumers, affect competition, may have resulted from a lack of competition, or may have been the product of anti-competitive conduct," the FTC said.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is seeking information about tech platforms' content policies and actions to ban users, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson announced on Thursday, saying the practices may amount to censorship and violate the law.

The new leader of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is opening an inquiry into whether a wide range of online services from social media giants such as Meta to ride-sharing companies such as Uber "censor" users.