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Donald Trump signs executive order seeking to strip Twitter and Facebook of 'liability shield'

Donald Trump, the US president, has more than 80 million followers on Twitter - Alex Wong/Getty Images
Donald Trump, the US president, has more than 80 million followers on Twitter - Alex Wong/Getty Images

 

Donald Trump has dramatically escalated his battle with Twitter, signing an executive order seeking to strip social media giants of a “liability shield” that protects them from being sued for content posted by users.

The US president argued that the site had become effectively an "editor" rather than a “neutral platform” by taking steps like adding fact-check links to tweets - as the company did with two of his messages this week. 

Mr Trump also said he would close down Twitter if he could do so legally, a remarkable threat to make about a major US company, and claimed he would quit the site in a “heartbeat” if he had fair newspaper coverage.

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The president said his executive order seeks new regulations for Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a part of the law that has become the bedrock for unfettered speech on the internet.

That section of the 1996 law says that an internet service provider should not be treated like a “publisher” of any information posted by a user, meaning that it cannot be held liable for content shared online.

Mr Trump also said he would stop taxpayer money going to social media platforms that undermined free speech and ordered his attorney general to work with states on new laws to regulate such firms.

“They've had unchecked power to censor, restrict, edit, shape, hide, alter virtually any form of communication between private citizens or large public audiences," Mr Trump said of social media companies.

"There is no precedent in American history for so small a number of corporations to control so large a sphere of human interaction."

The announcement appeared to be strong on rhetoric and short on immediate changes to legislation, given it is unlikely Mr Trump has the power to change the law unilaterally.

Any changes to that section of the law which he described as a “liability shield” would need to be approved by the US Congress, according to legal experts.

The House of Representatives, one of the two congressional bodies, is held by the Democrats - Mr Trump’s political opponents.

However changes to Section 230 has supporters on both sides of the aisle. Joe Biden, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, has said the section “immediately should be revoked” back in December.

Some critics see it as allowing social media companies to waive responsibility for illegal content which is posted on their sites, such as terrorist propaganda or child pornography.

The trigger for Mr Trump’s action came when Twitter put fact-checking labels next to two of the president’s tweets, allowing users to click for more information.

The tweets were about postal ballots, which Mr Trump claimed were wide open to fraud and could lead to a rigged election. The fact-checking text from Twitter said there was little proof of widespread fraud.

Mr Trump said by making those types of changes Twitter moved from being a “neutral platform” to an “editor”, which meant it should not have the “liability shield” of Section 230. He also said it was “political activism”.

Text of the executive order later released mentioned Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, talking about their "immense, if not unprecedented, power to shape the interpretation of public events".

The removal of any “liability shield” could have huge implications for the legal exposure and financial risk faced by those companies.

The fierce criticism of Twitter has raised eyebrows since Mr Trump’s tweets have fuelled his political rise and become a central part of his communication with voters. He has more 80 million followers on the site.

Asked if he would ever quit Twitter given his criticism of the company, Mr Trump said: "If we had a fair press in this country, I would do that in a heartbeat.”

Mr Trump also repeated threats to close Twitter, saying: “If it were legal, if it were able to be legally shut down, I would do it."

The US Chamber of Commerce released a critical statement moments after the announcement saying “this is not how public policy is made in the United States”.

It said an executive order “cannot be properly used to change federal law”.

Trump versus Twitter: How the President's social media clampdown could change the internet