Trump signed New Executive Order to limit fact-checking for Google Twitter & Facebook

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On Thursday, US President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order targeting major social media networks including Google, Facebook, and Twitter. The new order came after Twitter labeled Trump’s tweets about mail-in ballots for containing potentially misleading information. Trump said during the signing that social media companies aren’t neutral platforms. He added that Twitter becomes an editor with a viewpoint when it bans accounts, edits, or takes down posts. President said, “The censorship and bias is a threat to freedom itself. Imagine if your phone company silenced or edited your conversation. Social media companies have vastly more power and more reach than any phone company in the United States”.

Most social media companies have repeatedly denied they censor conservative speech. But, Twitter’s fact-checking of Trump’s tweets have started a debate regarding whether they’re neutral platforms or publishers. Both Facebook and Twitter have said they don’t need to be an arbiter of truth. A Google spokeswoman said the company’s content policies have no political bias. She said, “We have clear content policies and we enforce them without regard to political viewpoint. Our platforms have empowered a wide range of people and organizations from across the political spectrum, giving them a voice and new ways to reach their audiences. Undermining Section 230 in this way would hurt America’s economy and its global leadership on internet freedom.

Facebook said it was a platform for diverse views and that its rules apply to everyone. A spokesperson for Facebook issued a statement and said, “Repealing or limiting section 230 will have the opposite effect. It will restrict more speech online, not less. By exposing companies to potential liability for everything that billions of people around the world say, this would penalize companies that choose to allow controversial speech and encourage platforms to censor anything that might offend anyone”. Point to be noted that the new executive order still doesn’t change how Twitter and Facebook operate. It calls for the government to clarify a federal law that shields online companies from liability for content posted by users. Experts have indicated that it will likely be challenged in court, and some raised concerns about its impact on free speech.