President Trump said, “My executive order calls for new regulations under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.”
President Trump the signing an executive order targeting social media companies Thursday in an apparent act of retribution for Twitter labeling two of his tweets “potentially misleading” days earlier.
President Trump explained, “If Twitter were not honorable, if you’re going to have a guy like this be your judge and jury, I think he’s shut it down as far as I’m concerned.”
Trump’s order doesn’t mean people would lose their Facebook or Twitter accounts. What it does is reinterpret a critical 1996 law shielding websites and tech companies from lawsuits.
President Trump said, “They have a shield… they are not gonna have that shield.”
Among other things, Trump’s order instructs the Department of Justice to consult with state attorneys general on allegations of anti-conservative bias.
It makes it easier for regulators like the Federal Trade Commission to accuse platforms of suppressing free speech when imposing their own standards.
Twitter responded to the executive order, posting in part, “This EO is a reactionary and politicized approach to a landmark law.”
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump’s order a distraction. “What the president is doing is silly,” she said. “It’s silly.”
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