The heads of the Federal Communications Commission have sharply divided over President Donald Trump's planned executive order on social media, with one taking to Twitter to voice her opposition, Business Insider reports.
A draft of Trump's executive order leaked online Wednesday, showing a potential plan to remove protections for social media platforms if they alter or remove user content in response to Twitter putting a fact check notice on one of his recent tweets.
"This does not work," wrote FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who is a Democrat. "Social media can be frustrating. But an Executive Order that would turn the Federal Communications Commission into the president's speech police is not the answer. It's time for those in Washington to speak up for the First Amendment. History won't be kind to silence."
Republican commissioner Brendan Carr told Yahoo Finance he would support re-examining the provision of the Communications Decency Act that grants protections to social media companies.
"I think given what we've seen over the last few weeks, it makes sense to let the public weigh-in and say 'is that really what Congress meant' when they passed and provided those special protections," he said.
His fellow Republican, Mike O'Rielly, added on Twitter that Trump "has right to seek review of statute's application. As a conservative, I’m troubled voices are stifled by liberal tech leaders. At same time, I’m extremely dedicated to First Amendment which governs much here."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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