The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has initiated a public inquiry to examine how technology platforms restrict or limit users’ access to services based on the content they share or their affiliations.

The agency also aims to determine whether such actions have violated consumer protection or competition laws.

Technology platforms often rely on internal policies that may be unclear or inconsistently applied, sometimes resulting in users losing access to services without an opportunity to appeal, the commission said.

The FTC is assessing whether these practices have harmed consumers, affected market competition, or stemmed from anti-competitive behaviour.

As part of the inquiry, the FTC issued a request for information (RFI) seeking public input on how users may have been impacted by content moderation policies.

FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson said: “Tech firms should not be bullying their users. This inquiry will help the FTC better understand how these firms may have violated the law by silencing and intimidating Americans for speaking their minds.”

The commission sought individuals who have experienced account bans, shadow bans, demonetisation, or other forms of content restriction to submit comments by 21 May 2025.

The agency is said to be particularly interested in whether these practices may constitute unfair or deceptive acts or unfair methods of competition.

In January 2025, the FTC raised antitrust concerns regarding tech giant Microsoft’s $13.75bn investment in OpenAI.

In a report, the commission suggested that the investment may extend Microsoft’s dominance in cloud computing into the emerging AI market.