Trump: We will regulate or 'close down' social media platforms before they silence conservatives

The Washington Times ^ | May 27, 2020 | David Sherfinski

[kevcol]

President Trump on Wednesday threatened to “strongly regulate” or close down social media platforms if they silence conservative voices, stepping up his criticism after Twitter attached fact-checking context to Mr. Trump’s tweets for the first time on Tuesday.

“Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen,” the president said on Twitter.

“We saw what they attempted to do, and failed, in 2016. We can’t let a more sophisticated version of that…happen again,” the president said.

[kevcol]

Anti-Trump tweets of Twitter's man who fact-checks POTUS: Head of 'Site Integrity' has called the administration Nazis, compared Kellyanne to Joseph Goebbels and said fly-over states are racist

[butlerweave]

well if social media can make new rules at the drop of a Hat so can Trump

[servantboy777]

Love when leftist provide the very rope that hangs themselves. lol

[John Leland 1789]

Why regulate or close down? Why not create new, better ones? Where are conservative tinkers, movers and primers, investors, technicians?

[AmericanInTokyo]

Unconstitutional.

He has no such authority.

What is this a dictatorship?

Try it. Just try.

[mylife]

Yoel is quite the fag, not that there is anything wrong with it..

[mylife]

Yoel is quite the fag, not that there is anything wrong with it..

[Antoninus]

Massive social media platforms like F Book and Twaddle need to either respect political free speech and not throttle views they don’t like, or be subject to liability laws as publishers.

[Antoninus]

He has no such authority.

What needs to be looked at is de-platforming Google, Twitter, Facebook, etc. and making them subject to the same liability laws as publishers. They will be drowning in slander lawsuits in no time if that happens. At present they are immune from such because they claimed to be public platforms which respected freedom of speech.

[Oshkalaboomboom]

He can declare a health emergency and make new laws out of thin air just like so many other politicians are doing right now.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Why regulate or close down? Why not create new, better ones? Where are conservative tinkers, movers and primers, investors, technicians?

That was the correct answer. For 2012.

Fact is we're too far down the road for that now. A few social media behemoths have insurmountable inertia. Getting enough users to desert them for a new platform would be time consuming, and likely not include those people not already on our side whom we would want to persuade. Certainly none of that will happen before November.

The Left has been hoisting us on the petard of our own virtue in taking a hands-off "private companies can do what they want" approach. (yeah, tell that to the shopkeeper who is being forced to make his customers wear masks).

Frankly Trump should have reacted this way long before now.

[grimalkin]

We should use every bit of it too.

[I want the USA back]

Don’t talk. Do it.

[Professional]

Before?

They already do. Good grief, we have almost 4 years of Trump and not anything done about Swamp or Media. WTF, action, DO IT NOW. Less tweeting, more HAMMERTIME.

[Paladin2]

Looks like one needs fascism to battle fascism.

[VastRWCon]

Trump is playing them again. Just like when he said that he had full authority over the Governors. The media took the bait.

Popcorn please!!!

[PghBaldy]

They have been doing this for ages.

[2aProtectsTheRest]

Am not and never will be in favor of more regulations, restrictions, rules, or other government interference in private businesses.

If these platforms are working against conservatives, then conservatives should either move to platforms that are truly free and open or create conservative-only platforms. You don’t shut down businesses you don’t like; you create new businesses that do a better job serving people. That’s how you win in the free market, both in business and in ideas.

[mdmathis6]

He has authority under the Sherman anti trust acts...

[proust]

“if they silence conservative voices,”

Ummm this already happened. He was “closely monitoring” the situation ages ago.