Trump Administration drafts a proposal to regulate social media censorship

The Trump Administration has drafted an executive order that would force the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate censorship across social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, according to CNN. If passed, the proposal would require the FCC to create new regulations that would protect conservatives from being removed or banned from major websites. In a recent meeting with right-wing social media activists, Trump said he would “explore all regulatory and legislative solutions to protect free speech.”

The proposal would further require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which usually deals with consumer issues, to open a public complaint docket for users who feel they have been wrongly censored online. The FTC will then have to work with the FCC to figure out if the website has “injured” the consumer and could move forward with a lawsuit.

According to CNN, the draft of the order is titled, “Protecting Americans from Online Censorship,” and includes a section saying, “the White House has received more than 15,000 anecdotal complaints of social media platforms censoring American political discourse.”

The draft goes on to single out companies who have a monthly user base of one-eighth of the US population or more. These platforms, including Facebook, Google, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Snapchat could all face excessive scrutiny if the order becomes enforced.