The US President Donald Trump has dramatically signed an executive order which aims to remove some of the legal protections given to social media platforms. This order paves the way for legal actions against firms such as Facebook and Twitter for the way they control the content on their platforms.
When signing the order President Trump stated that social media platforms currently enjoy “unchecked power”.
In addition to this, on Friday morning this story has escalated. Twitter has placed a warning on a tweet from Mr Trump regarding protestors in the city of Minneapolis. The platform, due to it feeling Mr Trump’s Tweet was inciting violence, prevented users from viewing the tweet without first reading a notice describing the rule violation. Twitter also blocked users from liking or replying to Mr. Trump’s post.
The prominent Twitter user David Vance said: “Twitter cannot pretend to be just a platform whilst acting as a publisher. I fully support @realDonaldTrump for taking meaningful action against. Time to choose @jack”. The user Mr Vance cites at the end of the Tweet is Jack Dorsey who is the co-founder and CEO of Twitter.
This is most certainly a developing story and Mr Trump’s next move may well shape where the situation moves. Given that Mr Trump has regularly accused social media platforms of stifling or censoring conservative voices, it seems unlikely that Mr Trump will let these latest developments pass without significant comment.
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Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
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