In response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recent inquiry about censorship, the American Knife & Tool Institute submitted the comments below by the May 21, 2025, deadline. AKTI has been following and working on this issue since 2022, when we launched a survey to evaluate the extent of the problems. We alerted the knife community to this opportunity to have our voice heard. We’ll keep you up to date on the FTC’s subsequent report.
The American Knife and Tool Institute is sharing details on how technology platforms deny or degrade users’ access to services. This issue is not limited to political speech; it significantly impacts businesses and organizations across various sectors and industries.
The experience of the knife industry perfectly illustrates the problems you are seeking to address. As AKTI members can attest, social media platforms have become crucial for knife brands to grow, build community, and connect with law-abiding customers. However, these brands, regardless of their size, consistently face confusing, opaque, and ever-changing rules that lead to arbitrary censorship.
We have seen numerous instances of knife brands having their posts flagged, often without a clear explanation, for violating nebulous “community standards” or “terms of service.” Even more concerning, several brands have had their entire social media accounts removed, severely hindering their ability to conduct business and reach their audience. The lack of transparency and a meaningful appeal process exacerbates this harm.
AKTI fully understands that social media companies have the right to moderate content. The current constraints on knife companies appear unreasonable and fail to recognize the legitimate and everyday uses of knives as tools. This kind of arbitrary censorship can harm competition by unfairly limiting the reach and growth potential of these businesses.
The FTC’s inquiry is a crucial step towards understanding the extent of this problem and determining whether these actions constitute unfair or deceptive practices or unfair methods of competition. We urge the Commission to consider the experiences of industries like the knife industry, where legitimate businesses are being negatively impacted by the inconsistent and often unexplained content moderation practices of technology platforms.
The American Knife & Tool Institute is the effective nonprofit advocacy organization for the knife industry and all knife owners. Its mission is to ensure that Americans will always be able to make, buy, sell, own, carry, and use knives and edged tools. Formed in 1998, AKTI is dedicated to educating, promoting, and providing relevant and accurate information about knives and edged tools as important tools in daily American life.
Thank you for taking on this important issue and working to ensure a more fair and transparent online environment for all users, including businesses in general and the knife industry in particular.