Trump targets social media protections

President Donald Trump has acted on concerns that social media platforms discriminate against certain political views. He signed an executive order on Thursday challenging the companies’ legal immunity under the Communications Decency Act.

What will the move accomplish? The order asks the Federal Communications Commission to reexamine the scope of Section 230, which shelters internet companies from most liability for content users post. The president also ordered the creation of a council to review allegations of political censorship. It’s unclear whether the executive action can substantially change the rules without an act of Congress, and it will likely face legal challenges.

Twitter recently flagged two of the president’s tweets, calling them factually misleading. On Friday, Twitter also added a warning to his tweet commenting on the protests in Minneapolis.

Dig deeper: Read Steve West’s report in Liberties on the debate over whether the government should regulate Big Tech.