US President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order aimed at curbing protections for social media giants.Credit:AP
His directive comes daysafter Twitter steered viewers of some of the President’s tweets to news articles that fact-checked his claims,a move Trump said was a form of censorship.
"I'm signing an executive order to protect and uphold the free speech rights of the American people,"Trump said.
"Currently,social media giants like Twitter receive an unprecedented liability shield based on the theory that they're a neutral platform,which they're not."
If it were legal for him to shut down Twitter,Trump said,"I would do it."
Attorney General William Barr listens as President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order aimed at curbing protections for social media giants,in the Oval Office of the White House.Credit:AP
Attorney-General William Barr,who joined Trump for his remarks,said the order would not repeal Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act,which provides social-media companies their liability protection.
"But it's been stretched and I don't know of anyone in Capitol Hill who doesn't agree that it's been stretched beyond its original intention,"he said.