U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Thursday sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, requesting answers over the recent report showing Apple News featured a whopping 440 articles from liberal sources in January, but zero from conservative publications.
“The American public increasingly relies on services like Apple News to provide them with information, and they deserve to have access to perspectives across the political spectrum,” wrote Blackburn. “To deny consumers that ability through algorithmic promotion or editorial bias is a disservice to those who use your product.”
Blackburn cited an analysis published by the Media Research Center’s Free Speech America project earlier this month, which revealed the liberal bias among the publishers of 440 of the top 620 articles featured by Apple’s news aggregator application last month.
To determine the partisanship of the articles aggregated by Apple News, the outlet cited analysis by the ratings company AllSides, which rates the partisan bias of media companies based on reader surveys, editorial analysis, and academic research.
According to MRC, the top five news websites Apple News used to source articles for the app were The Washington Post, The Associated Press, NBC News, The Guardian, and The New York Times.
The senator began her list of questions to Cook by asking whether Apple News has deliberately “excluded or deprioritized” news articles due to an “anti-conservative bias,” then asked the Apple CEO to describe how the app’s developers choose which articles to feature, and what role humans play in the decision.
Blackburn also requested Cook “provide any internal data on the distribution from stories across the political spectrum featured on the platform in the last year,” before asking whether the company has audited the algorithms for Apple News, and to provide the results of any such audits.
Finally, Blackburn asked Cook “what mechanisms exist” for publications excluded from Apple News to appeal the company’s decision.
The letter requested Cook provide the requested information by March 4.
Earlier in her letter, the senator also referenced the recent warning notice Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson sent to Cook, which advised that Apple could be violating consumer protection laws if Apple News suppresses certain articles or publications based on political ideology.
Polling shows Blackburn is currently the Republican front-runner for the nomination to become Tennessee’s next governor.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
