President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order targeting Twitter but included other social media giants after Twitter called two of his tweets “potentially misleading.”Trump claims he is taking action to “defend free speech from one of the gravest dangers it has faced in American history.”
Trump said social media companies “that engage in censoring or any political conduct will not be able to keep their liability shield.” according to ABC News, experts say he probably can’t do much without congressional approval and any move will be met with legal challenges.
Hours later Twitter adds another warning to the president tweet threatening to intervene in Minneapolis as it is ‘glorifies violence’ it reads:’when the looting starts, the shooting starts’.
Will you offer us a hand? Every gift, regardless of size, fuels our future.
Your critical contribution enables us to maintain our independence from shareholders or wealthy owners, allowing us to keep up reporting without bias. It means we can continue to make Jewish Business News available to everyone.
You can support us for as little as $1 via PayPal at [email protected].
Thank you.
Twitter added the notice in a tweet thread from its official comms account.
The executive order calls for new regulations under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides broad immunity from lawsuits to companies like Twitter, Facebook and Google which based on the content its user’s post.
Trump added “They have had unchecked power to censor, restrict, edit, shape, hide, alter any form of communication between private citizens or large public audiences. We are fed up with it.”
According to him, fact check is “editorial decisions” and represents “political activism,” referring to fact-check labels added to two of his tweets on mail-in ballots, like in California, “and it’s inappropriate.”
READ NORE:
Trump punishment: signs executive order on Social Media over allegations of political bias
“In those moments, Twitter ceases to be a neutral public platform and they become an editor with a viewpoint, and I think we can say that about others also,” Trump said,
He also said he would ensure “taxpayer dollars are not going in any social media company that repress free speech,” presumably referring to military and other agencies advertising on those sites.
The president said he expects his order will be challenged with a lawsuit.
Asked if he has considered deleting his own Twitter account, he said he would “in a heartbeat” if news wasn’t fake and then touted his 186 million followers across all social media platforms.
Attorney General Bill Barr, appearing in the Oval Office with Trump, said the order would not repeal Section 230, but would restore “the right balance.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier Thursday called the executive order a “distraction” from the coronavirus pandemic.
