A draft executive order from the White House could put the Federal Communications Commission in charge of shaping how Facebook (FB), Twitter (TWTR) and other large tech companies curate what appears on their websites, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
The draft order, a summary of which was obtained by CNN, calls for the
FCC to develop new regulations clarifying how and when the law protects social media websites
when they decide to remove or suppress content on their platforms.
Although still in its early stages and subject to change, the Trump
administration’s draft order also calls for the Federal Trade Commission
to take those new policies into account when it investigates or files
lawsuits against misbehaving companies.
If put into effect, the order would reflect a significant escalation by
President Trump in his frequent attacks against social media companies
over an alleged but unproven systemic bias against conservatives by
technology platforms. And it could lead to a significant
reinterpretation of a law that, its authors have insisted, was meant to
give tech companies broad freedom to handle content as they see fit.
A White House spokesperson declined to comment on the draft order, but referred CNN to Trump’s remarks at a recent meeting with
right-wing social media activists. During the meeting, Trump vowed to
“explore all regulatory and legislative solutions to protect free
speech.”
According to the summary seen by CNN, the draft executive order
currently carries the title “Protecting Americans from Online
Censorship.” It claims that the White House has received more than
15,000 anecdotal complaints of social media platforms censoring American
political discourse, the summary indicates. The Trump administration,
in the draft order, will offer to share the complaints it’s received
with the FTC.
In May, the White House launched a website inviting consumers to report complaints of alleged partisan bias by social media companies.
The FTC will also be asked to open a public complaint docket, according
to the summary, and to work with the FCC to develop a report
investigating how tech companies curate their platforms and whether they
do so in neutral ways. Companies whose monthly user base accounts for
one-eighth of the U.S. population or more could find themselves facing
scrutiny, the summary said, including but not limited to Facebook,
Google, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Snapchat.
The Trump administration’s proposal seeks to significantly narrow the protections afforded to companies under Section 230
of the Communications Decency Act, a part of the Telecommunications Act
of 1996. Under the current law, internet companies are not liable for
most of the content that their users or other third parties post on
their platforms. Tech platforms also qualify for broad legal immunity
when they take down objectionable content, at least when they are acting
“in good faith.” From the start, the legislation has been interpreted
to give tech companies the benefit of the doubt.
In a Senate floor speech
last year, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), one of the authors of Section 230,
said his aim with the legislation was to make sure “that internet
companies could moderate their websites without getting clobbered by
lawsuits.”
“Imagine how hard it would be to launch a platform that’s open to
discussion of any topic when even the simplest, most narrowly-focused
website on the internet can become a magnet for lawsuits,” Wyden said.
By comparison, according to the summary,the White
House draft order asks the FCC to restrict the government’s view of the
good-faith provision. Under the draft proposal, the FCC will be asked to
find that social media sites do not qualify for the good-faith immunity
if they remove or suppress content without notifying the user who
posted the material, or if the decision is proven to be evidence of
anticompetitive, unfair or deceptive practices.
Yet in its current form, the draft order could lead to significant
questions about the role the FCC and FTC can play when it comes to
interpreting and enforcing Section 230, an area they have previouslyleft
largely unaddressed. The effort to draft the order has been ongoing for
some time, the people said, and the proposal remains subject to change.
“It makes no sense to involve the FCC here,” said Berin Szoka, president
of the libertarian-leaning think tank TechFreedom. “They have
rule-making authority, but no jurisdiction — they can’t possibly want to
be involved. It would be an impossible position.”
The FTC and FCC both declined to comment.
The attempt to write the order comes as the White House on Friday prepared to meet with a number of tech companies to discuss their approaches to detecting and responding to violent extremism.
The midday meeting is expected to involve five-minute presentations from
the companies on their respective policies and projects, according to
copies of an invitation obtained by CNN. The presentations will be
followed by a group discussion on technology and the companies’ roles in
fighting “signals of violence … while respecting free speech.”
Some people close to the tech industry expressed frustration that the
White House seemed to be trying to have it both ways — excoriating tech
companies for allegedly censoring conservative speech, a claim the
platforms vigorously dispute, while castigating them for failing to
block enough violent or hateful content.
“The internal inconsistency of this is outrageous,” one of them said.
[CNN]
