Trump Signs Executive Order Cracking Down on Tech, Decrying ‘Unchecked Power’ Of Social Media Companies
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aimed at cracking down on tech companies including Twitter and Facebook, saying social media companies had enjoyed “unchecked power” to date that was “tantamount to monopoly.”
The order reportedly asks the Justice Department to form a working group comprised partially of state attorneys general, who will be tasked with potentially enforcing “state statutes that prohibit online platforms from engaging in unfair and deceptive acts and practices.” The Federal Trade Commission was directed to begin an independent review of the matter.
It also directs federal agencies to stop advertising on platforms that impose “viewpoint-based speech restrictions” and calls on the Federal Communications Commission to review Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The law has traditionally allowed tech platforms to escape liability under libel and defamation laws.
“As president, I’ll not allow the American people to be bullied by these giant corporations,” Trump said in an Oval Office signing ceremony. “Many people have wanted this to be done by presidents for a long time. And now, we are doing it, and I’m sure there will be a lawsuit, and I’m also sure we will be going for legislation in addition to this.”
The Internet Association, a tech group with members including Twitter, Facebook, and Amazon, issued a statement opposing the order earlier in the day, with CEO John Berroya saying the order “seems designed to punish a handful of companies for perceived slights.” Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who co-sponsored Section 230 in 1996, similarly issued a statement opposing the order, calling it “plainly illegal.”
Trump said he believed there was bipartisan support for revisiting law. Attorney General William Barr emphasized that point in his own remarks, saying it had been adopted “25 years ago to protect a fledgling industry,” but that it had been “completely stretched” to allow “behemoths … to act as editors and publishers” of material.
The move adds momentum to efforts to change the law. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) last year proposed legislation to amend Section 230, and the White House reportedly drafted an executive order similar to the one Trump signed Thursday.
The order comes after Twitter on Tuesday added a link to a fact-check of one of the president’s tweets about vote-by-mail balloting. Trump subsequently accused the platform of “interfering in the 2020 presidential election.”
Watch above via Fox News.
