Trump signed an executive order Thursday that could take away social media companies’ current exemption from civil suits stemming from harmful content posted to the platforms by users. That exemption is part of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which was written back in 1996 by Congressmen Ron Wyden of Oregon and Chris Cox of California and has been called the “internet’s First Amendment.”
“He is trying to force companies to knuckle under to him while he desperately tries to steal for himself the power of the courts and the Congress to rewrite decades of settled law around 230 just so he can spread unfiltered lies,” Wyden says.
The order comes in retaliation to Twitter’s decision to fact-check a presidential tweet containing misinformation about absentee voting. Twitter’s move marks the first time a major social media platform has provided fact-based context for President Trump’s tweets, which are often full of misinformation. As the 2020 election heats…
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Source : fastcompany.com
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