WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th May, 2020) The Trump administration is looking into taking down shields social media companies use that allow them to censor information on their platforms, White House spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany said during a press briefing on Thursday.
"There are various shields in place that essentially shield some of these social media companies and allow them to censor conservative users and we're not able to see what happens behind those shields," McEnany said.� "So we're looking at ways to remove those shields, to shed some light on what is happening in some of the decision-making behind the scenes."
Later on Thursday, US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order that will push for federal regulation to penalize social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Google for censoring online content.
Trump's order is expected to direct an agency within the Commerce Department to file a petition with the Federal Communications Commission to clarify the scope of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a 1996 law that is considered foundational to the internet's expansion, the report said.
The statute provides platforms legal immunity for content posted by third-party users while also giving them legal cover to make good-faith efforts to moderate their platforms, the report added.
The president's action comes after an unprecedented decision by Twitter this week to apply a fact-checking label to his content alleging that mail-in ballots are a source of voter fraud.
