Trump signs executive order challenging protections that keep social media giants from being liable for what is written on their platforms
Still, the move appears to be more about politics than substance, as the president aims to rally supporters after he lashed out at Twitter for applying fact checks to two of his tweets.
The proposed order would direct executive branch agencies including the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to study whether they can place new rules on the companies -- though experts express doubts much can be done without an act of Congress. Two administration officials outlined the draft order on the condition of anonymity because it was still being finalized Thursday morning. But a draft was circulating on Twitter -- where else?Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the Twitter fact checks reflected "bias in action" and Trump aimed to sign the order by the end of the day.
Dorsey added: "This does not make us an `arbiter of truth.' Our intention is to connect the dots of conflicting statements and show the information in dispute so people can judge for themselves." "Donald Trump's order is plainly illegal," said Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat and advocate for internet freedoms. He is "desperately trying to steal for himself the power of the courts and Congress. ... All for the ability to spread unfiltered lies."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it was "outrageous" that while Twitter had put a fact-check tag on Trump's tweets asserting massive mail-in election fraud, it had not removed his tweets suggesting without evidence that a TV news host had murdered an aide years ago. The trouble began in 2016, two years after Facebook launched a section called "trending," using human editors to curate popular news stories. Facebook was accused of bias against conservatives based on the words of an anonymous former contractor who said the company downplayed conservative issues in that feature and promoted liberal causes.
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