A couple of days ago, one of President Donald Trump’s tweets was flagged as misleading by Twitter and linked to a curated fact check page with news articles discrediting the President’s claims.
In a later tweet, Trump threatened to heavily regulate or shut down social media platforms trying to “silence” the voices of conservatives.
Trump has long been claiming that tech companies like Facebook, Google, and Twitter have a bias against conservatives. Last year, Trump accused Google of “manipulating” millions of votes during the 2016 election.
According to a Washington Post report, Trump will sign an executive order Thursday that could significantly limit the immunity that social media and other online platforms enjoy under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
The order will allow federal regulators to hold social media companies responsible for comments, videos, and other content posted on their platforms by users.
Once the order is signed by the President and the scope of the law protecting social media companies is reconsidered, the Federal Trade Commission could investigate companies’ content moderation policies to ensure they “comply with their promises of neutrality ». Federal agencies could also be required to review their advertising spending on social media.
