- The move comes two days after Twitter fact-checked two of Trump's tweets pushing false claims about voting by mail.
- Trump's executive order seeks to empower federal regulators to amend a statute that gives social media companies broad authority to moderate speech on their platforms.
- According to a leaked draft, the order seeks to create new regulations for how social media companies are allowed to moderate speech, and it calls for the Federal Trade Commission to keep a list of complaints from users about political bias on social media platforms.
- First Amendment experts say Trump has "absolutely no legal authority" to regulate or shut down social media companies when he disagrees with them, and his executive order will likely face tough pushback.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .
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Trump signs executive order threatening social media companies after Twitter fact-checked his tweets
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday seeking to crack down on social media companies over allegations of bias against conservatives.
FILE - In this Tuesday, May 26, 2020 file photo, President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters during an event on protecting seniors with diabetes in the Rose Garden White House in Washington. On Tuesday, Twitter took the unprecedented step of adding fact-check alerts to two of Trump's tweets about voting by mail. The next day the president threatened social media companies with new regulation or even shuttering. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
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President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday threatening penalties against social media companies over allegations of bias against conservatives.
"We're here today to defend free speech from one of the greatest dangers," he told pool reporters before signing the document.
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The move comes two days after Twitter added fact-checking links the first of its kind to two of Trump's tweets pushing false claims about voting by mail.
According to a leaked draft of the order, Trump is primarily seeking to empower federal regulators to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which gives social-media companies broad authority to moderate speech on their platforms.
Section 230 also stipulates that tech companies are not responsible for comments and other content that users post on their platforms.
Trump's order calls for tech companies to lose their Section 230 protection if they do anything to discriminate against users, restrict their access to a platform without giving them a fair hearing, or take other action that isn't in line with the terms of service.
A draft of the order obtained by Business Insider on Wednesday said that within 30 days of its signing, the Secretary of Commerce should file a petition for rulemaking within the Federal Communications Commission for regulations that clarify the scope of Section 230.
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It also said the head of each executive department and agency should review federal spending on advertising and marketing paid to online platforms.
Additionally, the draft order directs the Federal Trade Commission to take action to prohibit "deceptive or unfair practices," and allow people to complain if they think the companies are acting in a way that goes against their own rules and practices.
"As President, I have made clear my commitment to free and open debate on the Internet. Such debate is just as important online as it is in our universities, our businesses, our newspapers, and our homes," the draft reads. "In a country that has long cherished the freedom of expression, we cannot allow a limited number of online platforms to hand-pick the speech that Americans may access and convey online."
Trump fights fact-checking and alleged censorship
Thursday's executive order is the Trump administration's latest attack on big technology companies in a back-and-forth that has been going on since Trump took office. The president enjoys a large following on Twitter and Facebook advertising helped him get elected in 2016, but conservatives have accused technology companies of being biased against them for the past couple of years.
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There have been White House summits, congressional hearings, and draft legislation on the matter, but nothing that specifically aims to regulate social media companies for allegations of censorship has been successful yet.
Asked Thursday whether he would delete his Twitter account, Trump said, "If we had a fair press in this country, I would do that in a heartbeat," adding that his social media presence allows him to reach more people.
The president doubled down on claims of bias after Twitter fact-checked his tweets this week in which he claimed that mail-in ballots in California are "substantially fraudulent" and will result in a "Rigged Election."
Twitter's alert linked to a "Moments" page titled "Trump makes unsubstantiated claim that mail-in ballots will lead to voter fraud" that listed a series of facts contradicting his claims.
On Wednesday, Twitter elaborated on its decision to fact-check the president's tweets, writing, "We added a label to two @realDonaldTrump Tweets about California's vote-by-mail plans as part of our efforts to enforce our civic integrity policy. We believe those Tweets could confuse voters about what they need to do to receive a ballot and participate in the election process."
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Trump, meanwhile, accused the social media platform of" interfering in the 2020 Presidential Election " and said he wouldn't allow Twitter to stifle free speech.
"We will strongly regulate, or close them down before we can ever allow this to happen," he tweeted Wednesday morning.
Trump teased the executive order again in a tweet later that day, writing, "Big Tech is doing everything in their very considerable power to CENSOR in advance of the 2020 Election. If that happens, we no longer have our freedom. I will never let it happen! They tried hard in 2016, and lost. Now they are going absolutely CRAZY. Stay Tuned!!!"
Despite the president's threats, however, First Amendment experts say he does not have the power to regulate or shut down social-media companies because he disagrees with them. Tech policy experts echoed that assessment , telling Business Insider that parts of the executive order are not legal at all, while other sections would require agencies to throw out years of judicial precedent.
That said, the role of social media companies in combatting the spread of misinformation will likely be a recurring issue in the run-up to the election.
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Just hours before Trump signed his executive order, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took aim at Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, telling Fox News in an interview, "I just believe strongly that Facebook shouldn't be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online."
facebook ceo mark zuckerberg
Reuters/Erin Scott
Dorsey hit back at Zuckerberg, tweeting, "We'll continue to point out incorrect or disputed information about elections globally. And we will admit to and own any mistakes we make. This does not make us an 'arbiter of truth.'"
He added: "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."
Democrats have been heavily critical of social media companies, most prominently Facebook, that have refused to crack down on misinformation on their platforms.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday accused Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg of pandering to Trump by criticizing Twitter's decision to fact-check his tweets and insisting that Facebook cannot be an "arbiter of truth."
Pelosi argued during a press conference that Facebook is chiefly driven by a desire to maximize profits, including by avoiding taxes and regulation, while "hid[ing] under freedom of speech."
"Facebook, all of them, they're all about making money," she said. "Their business model is to make money at the expense of the truth and the facts ... and they defend that."
She also called Trump's executive order "silly" and said it was "a distraction" from the coronavirus pandemic.
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See Also:
- Nancy Pelosi slams Mark Zuckerberg for 'pandering' to Trump by attacking Twitter's fact-check of his false claims
- Legal and tech policy experts say Trump's draft executive order cracking down on social-media companies is dead on arrival
- Mark Zuckerberg told Fox News that Facebook would not fact-check Trump's false claims as Twitter did
SEE ALSO: 'Absolutely no legal authority': Trump's threats to shut down Twitter are 'totally asinine' and reek of censorship, according to legal experts
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