On August 21, 2025, Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew N. Ferguson issued warning letters to over a dozen major tech firms—including Akamai, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Cloudflare, Discord, GoDaddy, Meta, Microsoft, Signal, Snap, Slack, and X—urging them not to censor Americans or weaken data security in response to foreign laws such as the EU’s Digital Services Act or the UK’s Online Safety Act and Investigatory Powers Act.
Encryption must hold when global laws clash with U.S. standards.
Foreign laws shouldn’t override U.S. user protections
Tech firms face pressure from foreign governments to censor content or weaken encryption. Yet the FTC made plain: even under that pressure, companies must uphold data protections promised to American consumers. Violating those promises could constitute unfair or deceptive practices under the FTC Act Federal Trade Commission.
Consumer trust hinges on honest promises
If a service claims to secure user data or communications but secretly compromises those protections due to foreign demands, that misalignment is deceptive. The FTC has enforced similar violations repeatedly over the years Federal Trade Commission.
No compromise on privacy, even under pressure
Ferguson’s letters stress that foreign threats—surveillance, identity theft, censorship—should not become embedded in U.S. services. He invited each company to arrange meetings by August 28, 2025, to explain how they will uphold privacy and security while navigating international laws.
VALT perspective: encryption matters. And it should be shielded globally.
At VALT, we privatize privacy—no half-measures. Encryption is the foundation of user sovereignty. We give individuals real visibility into their data footprint, the ability to delete it permanently, and even earn from delegating anonymized insight. Weakening that foundation jeopardizes consumer trust and the integrity of our mission.
We empower users, not governments. And we believe one law should apply: protect user data, always.
We don’t negotiate on privacy. We privatize it, for every user and every jurisdiction .Protect your data with unwavering encryption. Get the VALT app now: Download the VALT app
