Trump's new 'Protecting Americans from Online Censorship' order crushes protections for online publishers under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
Only an administration as venal as Trump's would call it 'Protecting Americans from Online Censorship.'
But there it is. The draft executive order by illegitimate, popular-vote-losing United States president Donald Trump would force the FCC to cut back on CDA Section 230 protections for internet platforms, so they can be held liable by the government when they remove, say, Nazi tweets.
Trump's hate cult runs on social media used as a hate vector. It's in his administration's interest to do this. This is part of how they plan to retain and increase power.
CNN's Brian Fung broke the story on Friday evening, with details on the long-rumored social media executive order the Trump administration is said to have now written.
The draft is, yes, really, titled "Protecting Americans From Online Censorship," and would to narrow protections given to social media platforms and all other online publishers including this very website under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
It claims that the White House has received more than 15,000 anecdotal complaints of social media platforms censoring American political discourse, the summary indicates. The Trump administration, in the draft order, will offer to share the complaints it's received with the FTC.
The FTC will also be asked to open a public complaint docket, according to the summary, and to work with the FCC to develop a report investigating how tech companies curate their platforms and whether they do so in neutral ways. Companies whose monthly user base accounts for one-eighth of the U.S. population or more could find themselves facing scrutiny, the summary said, including but not limited to Facebook, Google, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Snapchat.
What is 47 U.S.C. § 230, a Provision of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996?
Section 230, the one Trump's administration is now seeking to effectively crush, “is one of the most valuable tools for protecting freedom of expression and innovation on the Internet,” EFF explains:
The Internet community as a whole objected strongly to the Communications Decency Act, and with EFF's help, the anti-free speech provisions were struck down by the Supreme Court. But thankfully, CDA 230 remains and in the years since has far outshone the rest of the law. Section 230 says that "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider" (47 U.S.C. § 230). In other words, online intermediaries that host or republish speech are protected against a range of laws that might otherwise be used to hold them legally responsible for what others say and do. The protected intermediaries include not only regular Internet Service Providers (ISPs), but also a range of "interactive computer service providers," including basically any online service that publishes third-party content. Though there are important exceptions for certain criminal and intellectual property-based claims, CDA 230 creates a broad protection that has allowed innovation and free speech online to flourish.
“Ironically, for all Republicans' complaints about 'censorship,' this order would ACTUALLY create an Internet speech police at the FCC & FTC,” tweeted @TechFreedom.
More from Twitter:
Oh, Chairman @AjitPaiFCC will be fully on board.
He played this "social media censorship' card hard in the run up to the repeal.
He's got no problem with being intellectually inconsistent or dancing with the alt-right
— Ryan Singel (@rsingel) August 9, 2019
If this accurately reflects resulting EO, it's an anti-American edict that would empower FCC & FTC to be viewpoint-based arbiters of online speech. Thankfully, 1st Amendment forbids that. It's regrettable that this Administration doesn't seem to know that. https://t.co/uKNqE6UKD4
— PEN America (@PENamerica) August 9, 2019
This executive order is a dispatch from crazy town: the White House apparently wants the FCC to intervene to restrict the protections afforded by Section 230 of the CDA, so that the platforms could be held liable for removing certain kinds of content https://t.co/4UvQLqPhE3
— Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) August 9, 2019
Ajit Pai has spent the last decade whining about the "Fairness Doctrine," a 1949 law requiring balanced media coverage before being killed in '87.
He's going to loathe this idea, but nod dumbly in fealty to Trumpism. https://t.co/PdURMG8P3S
— Karl Bode (@KarlBode) August 9, 2019
All of the people who have been screaming about “FREE SPEECH” will be furious about this, right? https://t.co/uLxm5Q3UoT
— Sleeping Giants (@slpng_giants) August 9, 2019
NEW: Fresh details of a draft executive order suggest the White House wants the FCC and FTC to police social media content moderation: https://t.co/zqH9eh8iYz
— Brian Fung (@b_fung) August 9, 2019
CNN's @b_fung has details about that social media executive order the Trump administration has drafted. It's titled "Protecting Americans From Online Censorship" and seeks to narrow protections given to tech companies under Section 230 https://t.co/CHOoETOXbO
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) August 9, 2019
CNN reports on a leaked summary of the White House's draft Executive Order about anti-conservative bias
Ironically, for all Republicans' complaints about "censorship," this order would ACTUALLY create an Internet speech police at the FCC & FTC
Our take: https://t.co/HDDv1VAQAr
— TechFreedom (@TechFreedom) August 9, 2019
The White House’s readout of that meeting today with tech companies: pic.twitter.com/3oosKebGjl
— Brian Fung (@b_fung) August 9, 2019
This executive order would be a disaster for free speech. It would essentially make Ajit Pai head of the Internet free speech police, and dangerously undermine CDA 230, the law that protections basic expression online. Just an all around dumpster fire https://t.co/qplHYYKLFG
— Fight for the Future (@fightfortheftr) August 9, 2019
From the same folks that spent the last decade bitching about the fairness doctrine comes an entirely new, terrible idea. https://t.co/z0lX27RZ1f
— Karl Bode (@KarlBode) August 9, 2019
A draft executive order from the White House could put the FCC in charge of shaping how Facebook, Twitter and other large tech companies curate what appears on their websites, according to multiple people familiar with the matter https://t.co/YYpYZCMpMo
— CNN Business (@CNNBusiness) August 9, 2019
The Facebook algorithm works by showing you more of the kind of content you already click on, comment on, and share. There's no room of employees removing conservative content. Even fake news is only de-ranked -- not removed.https://t.co/Zq27e5Z6lj
— Sarah Frier (@sarahfrier) August 9, 2019
[via Techmeme]
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