Trump signs executive order threatening social media companies after Twitter fact-checked his tweets
Trump's executive order seeks to limit the power of social media companies to moderate speech on their platforms.President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday seeking to crack down on social media companies over allegations of bias against conservatives.
The move comes two days after Twitter fact-checked two of Trump's tweets pushing false claims about voting by mail. Trump's executive order seeks to empower federal regulators to amend a statute that gives social media companies broad authority to moderate speech on their platforms. According to a leaked draft, the order seeks to create new regulations for how social media companies are allowed to moderate speech, and it calls for the Federal Trade Commission to keep a list of complaints from users about political bias on social media platforms. First Amendment experts say Trump has "absolutely no legal authority" to regulate or shut down social media companies when he disagrees with them, and his executive order will likely face tough pushback.President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday threatening penalties against social media companies over allegations of bias against conservatives. "We're here today to defend free speech from one of the greatest dangers," he told pool reporters before signing the document. The move comes two days after Twitter added fact-checking links — the first of its kind — to two of Trump's tweets pushing false claims about voting by mail. According to a leaked draft of the order, Trump is primarily seeking to empower federal regulators to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which gives social-media companies broad authority to moderate speech on their platforms. Section 230 also stipulates that tech companies are not responsible for comments and other content that users post on their platforms. Trump's order calls for tech companies to lose their Section 230 protection if they do anything to discriminate against users, restrict their access to a platform without giving them a fair hearing, or take other action that isn't in line with the terms of service.on Wednesday said that within 30 days of its signing, the Secretary of Commerce should file a petition for rulemaking within the Federal Communications Commission for regulations that clarify the scope of Section 230. It also said the head of each executive department and agency should review federal spending on advertising and marketing paid to online platforms. Additionally, the draft order directs the Federal Trade Commission to take action to prohibit "deceptive or unfair practices," and allow people to complain if they think the companies are acting in a way that goes against their own rules and practices. "As President, I have made clear my commitment to free and open debate on the Internet. Such debate is just as important online as it is in our universities, our businesses, our newspapers, and our homes," the draft reads. "In a country that has long cherished the freedom of expression, we cannot allow a limited number of online platforms to hand-pick the speech that Americans may access and convey online."Thursday's executive order is the Trump administration's latest attack on big technology companies in a back-and-forth that has been going on since Trump took office. The president enjoys a large following on Twitter and Facebook advertising helped him get elected in 2016, but conservatives have accused technology companies of being biased against them for the past couple of years. There have been White House summits, congressional hearings, and draft legislation on the matter, but nothing that specifically aims to regulate social media companies for allegations of censorship has been successful yet. Asked Thursday whether he would delete his Twitter account, Trump said, "If we had a fair press in this country, I would do that in a heartbeat," adding that his social media presence allows him to reach more people. The president doubled down on claims of bias after Twitter fact-checked his tweets this week in which he claimed that mail-in ballots in California are "substantially fraudulent" and will result in a "Rigged Election."titled "Trump makes unsubstantiated claim that mail-in ballots will lead to voter fraud" that listed a series of facts contradicting his claims.on its decision to fact-check the president's tweets, writing, "We added a label to two @realDonaldTrump Tweets about California's vote-by-mail plans as part of our efforts to enforce our civic integrity policy. We believe those Tweets could confuse voters about what they need to do to receive a ballot and participate in the election process."
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