How else does one describe the sudden interest from the Federal Trade Commission about Twitter’s engagement with … reporters? Specifically, the FTC has demanded that Elon Musk “identify all journalists” that have had access to Twitter’s internal communications, which relate to a lot of things — but not “trade.”

The Wall Street Journal’s exposé last night might even qualify as a new episode of the Twitter Files. It certainly looks like another attempt by the bureaucracy to shut down and smother dissent and debate:

The Federal Trade Commission has demanded Twitter Inc. turn over internal communications related to owner Elon Musk, as well as detailed information about layoffs—citing concerns that staff reductions could compromise the company’s ability to protect users, documents viewed by the Wall Street Journal show.

In 12 letters sent to Twitter and its lawyers since Mr. Musk’s Oct. 27 takeover, the FTC also asked the company to “identify all journalists” granted access to company records and to provide information about the launch of the revamped Twitter Blue subscription service, the documents show.

Ostensibly, the FTC wants to ensure that user data remains secure. That’s why they’re targeting the staff reductions, the FTC claims, and says that it’s part of ensuring compliance with a previous consent order.

And all of that might be believable, except for the demand to identify the journalists behind the Twitter Files. That makes the message crystal clear — the FTC isn’t concerned about user data. They want to shut down any efforts to expose government data related to their censorship and dissent suppression under previous Twitter management.

The House Judiciary subcommittee on the weaponization of government also got the message loud and clear:

The Judiciary panel’s report, the first by a new subcommittee examining what Republicans call “weaponization” of federal agencies, accused the FTC of overstepping its authority at the urging of progressive groups unhappy with Mr. Musk’s acquisition of the company.

“There is no logical reason, for example, why the FTC needs to know the identities of journalists engaging with Twitter,” the report said. “There is no logical reason why the FTC, on the basis of user privacy, needs to analyze all of Twitter’s personnel decisions. And there is no logical reason why the FTC needs every single internal Twitter communication about Elon Musk.”

The “imagine if” game is tiresome, but imagine if a Trump administration regulatory board insisted that a company revealed all of their contacts with journalists, say for the purpose of finding leaks or contacts with adverse news outlets. The media industry would rise up in righteous indignation, claiming that Trump wanted to use the power of bureaucracy to quash free speech and independent reporting. And they’d be right.

So when will the national news industry rise up as one to condemn FTC chair Lina Khan for her intrusion into the free press? Perhaps I’ll be surprised, but I won’t be holding my breath waiting for it. Case in point — the New York Times, which only gives this demand a passing mention:

The subcommittee also criticized the F.T.C. for asking Twitter about access to internal company files that it had provided to a group of journalists. An F.T.C. spokesman said the agency routinely sought information that companies under consent orders, like Twitter, provided to third parties.

Oh yeah, by the way … and we totally trust the government.

The government wants to shut down any more inquiries into their fascist collusion with social-media platforms to censor and suppress dissent and debate. They’re using the FTC to bully Musk and Twitter — not to mention the journalists involved in exposing the Twitter Files — to do it. And since the national media has been on the side of the government-corporate censorship effort all along, don’t expect too many of these “news” outlets to raise questions as to why the FTC is demanding lists of journalists.