Trump signs executive order seeking to crack down on social media companies
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order Thursday warning of penalties against social media companies over allegations of bias against conservatives.
As being reported, a leaked draft of the executive order indicates that it 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.
The draft of the executive order reads:
Read More : Trump Wants to ‘Regulate’ Twitter After Being Called Out for Lying
“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.
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.”
The move comes less than 48-hours after the twitter added fact-checking links to two of President Trump’s tweets pushing false claims about voting by mail.
“We’re here today to defend free speech from one of the greatest dangers,” he told pool reporters before signing the document.
“Social media companies that engage in censoring or any political conduct will not be able to keep their liability shield. That’s a big deal”, said POTUS.
President @realDonaldTrump is directing the Attorney General to work with states to enforce their laws against deceptive business practices.
— The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) May 28, 2020
"The states have broad and powerful authority to regulate in this arena." pic.twitter.com/N0jxMYAh1i
Here is how people react to the latest development:
Donald Trump loves free speech and free enterprise so much that he'd use the powers of the presidency to shut down Twitter because it chose, as a private enterprise, to surround his speech with some more speech
— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) May 28, 2020
If only @realDonaldTrump cared more about American lives than he does about his Twitter account. But, this is what we get when a narcissistic asshole gets elected to office by a minority of loud-mouthed assholes.
— 🖕🏻Aunt Crabby Calls Bullshit 🖕🏻 (@DearAuntCrabby) May 28, 2020
With his tweets about Scarborough’s intern, Trump set a trap for Twitter https://t.co/amyPpalnz6
— Chuck Woolery (@chuckwoolery) May 28, 2020
Trump said he would shut down Twitter, if he could: “If it were legal, if it could be legally shut down, I would do it.” But Trump also told reporters he's not deleting his account.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) May 28, 2020
We’re in the midst of a deadly pandemic that has already killed more than 100,000 Americans, and yet Donald Trump makes every single day about himself.
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) May 28, 2020
My God America, demand better than him. Please.
Remember when Republicans claimed that impeachment distracted Trump from focusing on #COVID19?
— Chris Lu (@ChrisLu44) May 28, 2020
He’s still distracted – now by Twitter calling him a liar.
Meanwhile, all of this is happening👇
(h/t @Covid19WarRoom) pic.twitter.com/3c9KnBR0vY
POTUS recently tweeted against mail-in ballots in the US, calling it an attempt to undermine and rig the upcoming elections, and Twitter was quick to respond and call him out for his lies.
“Get the facts about mail-in ballots,” tweeted the social networking site on its official handle as it tagged two of Trump’s tweets. This indirect yet quite a direct jibe at calling Trump’s tweets misinformation and lie obviously did not go down well with the president.