White House proposal would have FCC and FTC police alleged social media censorship

www.cnn.com ^ | August 10, 2019 | Brian Fung

[ransomnote]

Washington (CNN Business)A draft executive order from the White House could put the Federal Communications Commission in charge of shaping how Facebook (FB), Twitter (TWTR) and other large tech companies curate what appears on their websites, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

The draft order, a summary of which was obtained by CNN, calls for the FCC to develop new regulations clarifying how and when the law protects social media websites when they decide to remove or suppress content on their platforms. Although still in its early stages and subject to change, the Trump administration's draft order also calls for the Federal Trade Commission to take those new policies into account when it investigates or files lawsuits against misbehaving companies. Politico first reported the existence of the draft.

If put into effect, the order would reflect a significant escalation by President Trump in his frequent attacks against social media companies over an alleged but unproven systemic bias against conservatives by technology platforms. And it could lead to a significant reinterpretation of a law that, its authors have insisted, was meant to give tech companies broad freedom to handle content as they see fit.

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[a fool in paradise]

Alleged

[Henry Hnyellar]

Nah. This like saying that we own the car companies because the government built the roads. Further ARPAnet and the Internet are worlds apart.

[Buckeye McFrog]

IF this is needed, it should be through legislation. Not EO. We’re hanging on to the Constitution by our fingernails.

Such a bill would NEVER clear the Democrat house. Doubtful it would clear the RINOS in the Senate either. We are one election away from losing everything. EO is not ideal but the only option.