Published 07:28 IST, May 29th 2020
US: President Trump signs executive order targeting social media after fact check row
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to "defend free speech" and protect the country from the monolopy of social media firms.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to "defend free speech" and protect the country from the monopoly of social media firms. President Trump's decision comes two days after Twitter 'flagged' his tweet for spreading misinformation regarding voting via mail-in boxes. Trump later ranted against social media companies having too much power and control over information.
Trump signs executive order to defend free speech
Addressing reporters at the White House, he said, "A small handful of powerful social media monopolies control the vast portion of all private and public communications in the United States. They've had unchecked power to censor, restrict, edit, shape, hide, alter, virtually any form of communication between private citizens and large public audiences. There is no precedence in American history for so small corporations to control so large a sphere of human interaction."
"Today I am signing an executive order to protect and uphold the free speech rights of the American people. Currently, social media giants like Twitter receive an unprecedented liability shield based on a theory that they are a neutral platform, which they are not. Not an editor with a viewpoint. My executive order calls for new regulations under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to make it that social media companies that engage in censoring any political conduct will not be able t to keep their liability shield. My executive order further conducts the Federal Trade Commission to prohibit social media companies from engaging in any deceptive acts or practices affecting commerce. This authority resides in Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act"
Twitter, on Tuesday, flagged President Trump's tweet regarding 'mail-in ballots', which is a contentious topic of discussion with regards to the Presidential elections set to take place in November this year. It was the first such move and done to prevent the spread of misinformation. He had tweeted that Mail-in ballots will lead to voting fraud stating that these mailboxes will be 'robbed', will be 'forged and even illegally printed out'. In a subsequent tweet, Trump said that it will lead to the election being rigged.
Below the President's tweet, Twitter applied a warning sign with a link to the facts about the topic, which, then clarifies the claims. Soon after, Trump accused of 'interfering' with the US Presidential elections and that he will now allow that to happen.
Tuesday's events have caused a massive controversy in the US, a country proud of its democratic principles and the President's move can be contentious as well since it will limit free speech rights of the social media firms.
Robert McDowell, a former Republican commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission tweeted earlier in the day that President Trump cannot force the Federal Communications Commission, which is an independent agency with new legal powers. He added that since online platforms also have free speech like newspapers and television channels and thus, speech control would be against the Constitution.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that Twitter should not have be “arbiter of truth”. Speaking to an international daily, Zuckerberg said that neither Facebook nor other “private” social media platform companies should be in the position of being the arbiter of truth. Facebook has come under severe pressure previously to regulate content on the website and take action against hate speech, fake news, misinformation. However, Zuckerberg has previously stated that he will not be taking any action citing "free speech" as a weak shield to protect his accountability.
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey has backed his team's decision to flag President Trump's tweet and stated that his employees should not be targetted for decisions that are made by him. In a series of tweets on Wednesday evening, Dorsey said that the website will continue to point out misinformation regarding elections globally and added that he will admit to mistakes that are made. He added that the decision to do so does not make him 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. More transparency from us is critical so folks can clearly see the why behind our actions," Dorsey went on to add.
In his statement in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump further said, "I am directing my administration to develop policies and procedures to ensure taxpayer dollars are not going in any social media companies that restrict free speech. As President, I will not be allowing the American people to be bullied by these giant corporations." He added that there might be a lawsuit and that he will look to pass legislation on the same.
Updated 07:28 IST, May 29th 2020