Trump Signs Executive Order Targeting Legal Protections of Social Media Firms

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump signed Thursday an executive order that could strip social media companies of legal protection for monitoring content on their platforms in a highly contentious move that has already drawn murmurs of counter legal action.

Trump has threatened to take action against social networks after Twitter tagged two of his tweets on Wednesday in which he claimed that more mail-in voting would lead to what he called a "Rigged Election" this November.

Twitter posted a link under Trump’s tweets which read: “Get the facts about mail-in ballots” -- which in turn prompted an enraged response from Trump who took to Twitter again to blast the company’s role in “interfering in the 2020 Presidential Election” and “stifling free speech.”

While the precise details of the executive order are not yet known, the Washington Post reported that it would pertain to avoiding political bias on the major tech companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter.

However, Congress members from across the board along with legal experts have expressed their doubt whether federal regulations on social media platforms can even be enforced.

Moreover, tech industry leaders have been looking into filing suit against Trump’s directive once signed, the Washington Post reported.

If the order would go ahead unchallenged, it could fundamentally change property rights of the digital industry as well as change the method in which companies do business on the Internet.