Trump Threatens to Shut Down Social Media Platforms After Twitter Fact Check
President Donald Trump threatened to “strongly regulate” or shut down social media platforms, citing political bias against conservatives a day after Twitter included fact-check warnings for a series of his tweets. “Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives…
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voices,” he wrote Wednesday. “We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen.” Social media companies don’t have anti-conservative bias and are rightly collaborating with civil society and government to combat online misinformation, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Vice President Daniel Castro said: “While there may be occasional missteps, the private sector has shown a tremendous commitment to addressing this problem in a fair and transparent manner.” Twitter didn’t comment. Computer and Communications Industry Association President Matt Schruers raised free speech concerns, asking, “Are we a nation that tolerates its President threatening private enterprise for daring to contradict him?” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., tweeted that Trump’s “fear-mongering & conspiracy theory peddling is irresponsible, inexcusable, & authoritarian.” The First Amendment "significantly constrains any action the president could take to regulate social media platforms,” said American Civil Liberties Union Senior Legislative Counsel Kate Ruane. “The First Amendment also clearly prohibits the president from taking any action to stop Twitter from pointing out his blatant lies about voting by mail.”