The social media network Twitter, which has been at the center of a fact-checking storm with US President Donald Trump over recent days, has said that a new executive order, which calls for a series of legislative and legal actions regulating online platforms, threatens the future of online free speech
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th May, 2020) The social media network Twitter, which has been at the center of a fact-checking storm with US President Donald Trump over recent days, has said that a new executive order, which calls for a series of legislative and legal actions regulating online platforms, threatens the future of online free speech.
On Thursday evening, Trump signed an executive order that could open the door for Federal regulators to fine online platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google, for censoring online content. The move came after Twitter on Tuesday flagged tweets on mail-in ballots published by the president for potentially misleading information.
"This EO is a reactionary and politicized approach to a landmark law. #Section230 protects American innovation and freedom of expression, and it's underpinned by democratic values. Attempts to unilaterally erode it threaten the future of online speech and internet freedoms," Twitter wrote in an official statement on Thursday evening.
In a separate statement, Facebook also slammed the executive order over its calls for the repeal of Section 230, which provides social networks immunity from civil liabilities if they remove or restrict content deemed to be a violation of terms of service.
"We believe in protecting freedom of expression on our services, while protecting our community from harmful content including content designed to stop voters from exercising their right to vote. Those rules apply to everybody. Repealing or limiting section 230 will have the opposite effect," Facebook's Director of Strategic Communications Liz Bourgeois said in a statement shared on Twitter.
While speaking to reporters on Thursday evening, Trump stated that he would shut down Twitter if it were legal. The president added that the new executive order was to limit the "unchecked power" that social media platforms have had to restrict or censor views.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey justified the platform's decision to fact-check Trump's comments on Tuesday, saying that the president may have made people believe that they do not need to register in order to vote.
