Media Matters sues FTC, says agency is retaliating on behalf of Elon Musk

The lawsuit alleged that Media Matters’ free speech rights are being violated “as state governments and now a federal agency have employed sweeping governmental powers to attempt to silence and harass an organization for daring to speak the truth.” Media Matters said that under the First Amendment, it has “a privilege against disclosure of materials that would chill its constitutional rights.” The FTC also violated “basic statutory requirements” in US law because the investigative demand “fails to identify the relevant ‘conduct’ or the ‘alleged violation’ that the FTC is investigating,” the lawsuit said.

The FTC is led by Chairman Andrew Ferguson, who has argued that advertiser boycotts may violate antitrust law and pose “a pretty serious risk to the free exchange of ideas.” The FTC currently has only Republican commissioners because President Trump fired both Democrats, who sued Trump alleging that the firings violate federal law.

Media Matters said that claims of its involvement in an alleged advertiser boycott are baseless. “None of the Administration allies touting that theory—including Ferguson—has offered any credible basis for suspecting that Media Matters orchestrated an actionable conspiracy among competing advertisers in a cognizable market to refrain from purchasing advertisements on X or any other site favored by the Administration,” the lawsuit said.

Media Matters alleged that the civil investigative demand “constitutes a First Amendment retaliatory action in violation of Plaintiff’s rights under the First Amendment of the US Constitution” and asked the court to issue an injunction to block the investigation. Media Matters also alleged a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which provides protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The recent tension between Musk and Trump has not seemed to have any effect on the FTC investigation, Media Matters said. “That brief public feud between Musk and Trump took place after the FTC issued the CID, which the agency continues to pursue against Media Matters,” the lawsuit said.

We contacted the FTC today and will update this article if it provides a comment on the Media Matters lawsuit.