Brian Fung | @[email protected]

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Can he do that? The legal limits of Trump’s executive order on social media: https://t.co/7sjYW1aphq — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

@haroldfeld @ashleyrgold @publicknowledge My question is, can the administration simply assert that social media platforms are public forums and have that carry any policy weight? Here, it isn't even phrased as a conclusion but as a conditional premise to some other finding. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

@haroldfeld @FCC @NTIAgov That was always the plan, even under the draft text that was going around last year. At that time, FCC and FTC met with NTIA to voice their concerns. That doesn't appear to have taken place this time. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

And importantly, authors of Section 230 such as @RonWyden have repeatedly said that the intent of the law was to ensure tech companies could *not* be sued into oblivion. For the WH to leverage 230 into obtaining the opposite outcome would be to undermine the purpose of the law. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Much of the order could quickly get bogged down in a thicket of legal and constitutional questions. Just for example, the FTC reports to Congress, not the WH. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

It would tell DOJ to work with state AGs to determine what state laws could be brought to bear against complaints of political bias. And it would ban federal agencies from advertising on platforms deemed to have run afoul of Section 230. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

The order also tries to tell the FTC to develop a report on complaints of political bias collected by the White House, and instructs the agency to “consider” bringing lawsuits against companies accused of running afoul of 230. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

It would (indirectly, via Commerce) have the FCC create regulations outlining how and when companies might expose themselves to litigation under Section 230. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

The draft EO seeks to curtail the power of tech platforms by reinterpreting Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a critical law that shields websites and tech companies from lawsuits. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

We’ve gotten copies of the draft order. Looking at the text, the main provisions look fairly similar to what we reported previously here: https://t.co/zqH9eh8iYz — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

@birnbaum_e I’m still here! — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

As soon as my computer dies, I’m logging off for the night. That’ll be it. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Me IRL https://t.co/ZJiQxsGJPl — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

One can only hope https://t.co/lzIJk1vPA6 — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

RT @birnbaum_e: .@BrendanCarrFCC on @TuckerCarlson says he believes Congress/the Trump administration should take on the tech companies by… — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

@MichaelDBerry6 @benshapiro Because we haven’t seen the text of the order, it’s premature to reach any conclusions about the constitutionality of said order. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Also worth remembering that as a general practice, the FCC has repeatedly gone out of its way to avoid regulating websites and internet companies. The FCC’s GOP leadership made it a point to avoid “regulating the internet” when it rolled back its own net neutrality rules. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

@RoscoRoberts1 @sjj5614 @MarshallCohen What you’re suggesting is not something the president can legally do, given that the law in question explicitly provides for a safe harbor for social media platforms that are moderating their own systems. Overturning this would require an act of Congress. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

@aedwardslevy moderate rare — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Worth remembering that with prior WH attempts to draft an executive order targeting social media companies, the FCC and FTC (which are led by Republican chairmen) privately pushed back on being deputized to police political speech on social platforms: https://t.co/XcOig5FBar — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

The person briefed added that based on the lack of interagency review, it seems the draft EO was hastily conceived. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

NEW: The White House did not consult the FCC on a forthcoming executive order pertaining to social media companies, according to a person briefed on the matter. This suggests the draft order has not gone through the normal interagency review process. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Per WH pool, Trump is expected to sign an executive order tomorrow “pertaining to social media” but no details were provided. Pool report initially said Trump could sign it as early as today but was later corrected. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

"This is just another example of Trump thinking that the Constitution makes him a king, but it doesn't,” said David Vladeck, a former senior FTC official, on Trump’s threat to “strongly regulate” or even “close down” social media platforms: https://t.co/nq7px3Tohl — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

"The milestones will get even more dire in the next jobs report, but for now the economic regression back to Y2K is a fitting symbol for a generation that — more than any other — has been shaped by recession.” https://t.co/iZGaXaaqQZ via @andrewvandam — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

@TonyaJoRiley Oh my god this is my favorite thing — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

But seriously, so many source meetings and reporter happy hours used to happen at Post Pub, back when the Post was still over on 15th Street — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

NO if true — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

And they said this was supposed to be a *short* week — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Trump has declared war against social media, threatening to “strongly regulate” or even shut platforms down over their handling of conservative speech: https://t.co/CLXGrl64S0 — PolitiTweet.org