After accusing social media platforms of having “unchecked power”, US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that gives the government the right to police social media firms like Twitter and Facebook. He has been facing major over the same.
This order acts seeks to make changes to the Communications Decency Act, a US law that offers online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube legal support and protection in case of feuds.
The executive order points out that this legal immunity does not apply if a social network edits content posted by its users, and calls for legislation from Congress to “remove or change” Section 230.
The order also calls for:
- the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to elaborate on the type of content blocking that will be considered deceptive, pretextual or inconsistent with the terms and conditions of the service provider.
- reviewing government advertising on these social media handles, along with verification as to whether they place view-point based restrictions.
- the re-establishment of the White House “tech bias reporting tool” that lets citizens report unfair treatment by social networks
Twitter called the order “a reactionary and politicized approach to a landmark law,” adding that Section 230 “protects American innovation and freedom of expression, and it’s underpinned by democratic values”, while Google, which owns YouTube, said changing Section 230 would “hurt America’s economy and its global leadership on internet freedom.”
Trump on Wednesday had threatened to strongly regulate social media platforms after two of his posts were given a fact-check label by Twitter describing his post as ‘unsubstantiated’.