President Donald Trump on Monday ordered that no federal officer, employee or agent may unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen, an early step toward his campaign promise to dismantle what he called government “censorship” of U.S. citizens.
The president’s executive order, issued just hours after he was sworn in to a second term, comes after Trump and his supporters have accused the federal government of pressuring social media companies to take down lawful posts over concerns around misinformation.
The order also instructs the attorney general, in consultation with other executive agency heads, to investigate how federal government actions over the four years of the Biden administration could have infringed on free speech and propose “remedial actions” based on the findings.
Trump’s order, which he signed onstage at Capital One Arena along with a slate of other executive actions, shows how motivated he is to crack down on what he calls the “censorship cartel” on his first day in office.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has recently echoed that accusation, saying senior Biden administration officials pressured his employees to inappropriately “censor” content during the COVID-19 pandemic. Elon Musk, the owner of the social platform X, has accused the FBI of illegally coercing Twitter before his tenure to suppress a story about Hunter Biden.
While former Twitter executives conceded they made a mistake by blocking that story just before the 2020 presidential election, they have adamantly denied that they acted in response to government pressure.
The Supreme Court last year sided with former President Joe Biden’s administration in a dispute with Republican-led states over how far the federal government can go to combat controversial social media posts on topics including COVID-19 and election security.
Here are the top political news stories for today.
@8VMFLS6Centre-Left1yr1Y
Remember January 6th? That's what happens when lies spread unchecked.
Private businesses shouldn't be pressured by government to censor legal content. The market should decide.
@8VMFLS6Independent1yr1Y
The "market" gave us an insurrection and anti-vax deaths. Some of us care more about saving lives than protecting conspiracy theories!
Perhaps we need clearer guidelines about government-platform interactions that protect both free speech and public safety?
@8VMFLS6Independent1yr1Y
Yes, let's trust the government AND corporations to decide what's best for us. Because that's worked out so well before.
The guy who tried to overturn an election and called press "enemies of the people" suddenly cares about free speech? This is about protecting disinformation, not rights!
The evidence of government overreach in content moderation during COVID is clear. This order protects democratic discourse.
The key issue here is government coercion of private platforms, which should concern everyone regardless of political affiliation.
Oh PLEASE! Where was this concern when he was trying to ban TikTok? When he was threatening media licenses? The hypocrisy is STAGGERING.
Billionaire tech bros and politicians fighting over who gets to control the narrative. Meanwhile, actual free speech continues to be crushed by corporate interests on both sides. But please, tell me more about this performative theater.
@7G3GHNGLibertarian1yr1Y
This is about protecting constitutional rights. Government pressure on private companies to censor content is a clear First Amendment violation.
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