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Showing Original Post only (View all)Trump Executive Order to 'censor the Internet' denounced as dangerous and unconstitutional [View all]
In practice, this executive order would mean that whichever political party is in power could dictate what speech is allowed on the Internet. Civil liberties groups are warning of a major threat to online freedoms and First Amendment rights if a leaked draft of a Trump administration edictdubbed by critics as a Censor the Internet executive order that would give powerful federal agencies far-reaching powers to pick and choose which kind of Internet material is and is not acceptableis allowed to go into effect.
CNN notes that 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.
Its hard to put into words how mind bogglingly absurd this executive order is, said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future, in a tweet. In the name of defending free speech it would allow mass government censorship of online content. In practice, it means whichever party is in power can decide what speech is allowed on the internet.
PEN America, which defends the free expression for writers, journalists, and others, warned that any executive order based on this draft rule would be an unconstitutional anti-American edict.
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/08/leaked-draft-of-trump-executive-order-to-censor-the-internet-denounced-as-dangerous-unconstitutional-edict/