The White House has drafted an executive order that, if signed by President Donald Trump, would authorize federal antitrust and law enforcement officials to launch an investigation into the questionable practices of tech giants like presumably Facebook, Twitter and Google.
While the order doesn’t name specific tech giants, it does warn of the “anti-competitive acts” that “dominant online platforms” may be perpetuating, according to Business Insider, which obtained a copy of the draft.
“Whether reading news or looking for local businesses, citizens rely on search, social media, and other online platforms to provide objective and reliable information to shape a host of decisions ranging from consumer purchases to votes in elections,” the draft order reads.
“Because of their critical role in American society, it is essential that American citizens are protected from anti-competitive acts by dominant online platforms. Vibrant competition in the online ecosystem is essential to ensuring accountability for the platforms that hold so much sway over our economy and democratic process.”
Last year the social media giant Twitter censored a political ad by Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn because it touted her pro-life stance. This sort of censorship by demonstrably left-wing tech giants could conceivably alter entire elections. In her case, Twitter eventually reversed its censorship. But that doesn’t always happen.
The president has made it clear several times that he disapproves of this brand of censorship and is prepared to take action to stop it.
Social Media is totally discriminating against Republican/Conservative voices. Speaking loudly and clearly for the Trump Administration, we won’t let that happen. They are closing down the opinions of many people on the RIGHT, while at the same time doing nothing to others…….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 18, 2018
…..Censorship is a very dangerous thing & absolutely impossible to police. If you are weeding out Fake News, there is nothing so Fake as CNN & MSNBC, & yet I do not ask that their sick behavior be removed. I get used to it and watch with a grain of salt, or don’t watch at all..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 18, 2018
….Too many voices are being destroyed, some good & some bad, and that cannot be allowed to happen. Who is making the choices, because I can already tell you that too many mistakes are being made. Let everybody participate, good & bad, and we will all just have to figure it out!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 18, 2018
The draft executive order by the White House specifically instructs federal authorities to “thoroughly investigate whether any online platform has acted in violation of the antitrust laws,” particularly in regard to bias.
“Executive departments and agencies with authorities that could be used to enhance competition among online platforms (agencies) shall, where consistent with other laws, use those authorities to promote competition and ensure that no online platform exercises market power in a way that harms consumers, including through the exercise of bias,” the order reads.
News of the draft order comes only about a week after reports broke that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is considering launching his own investigation of tech giants like Facebook, Twitter and Google. The attorney general is in fact slated to meet with several state attorneys general who have reportedly already been examining these companies’ behavior.
One of the attorneys general, Jeff Landry of Louisiana, has reportedly encouraged Sessions to go ahead and just break up tech giants like Google and Facebook.
“My opinion is you are not going to fix this legislatively,” he said during a radio interview this week. “You are going to have fix this like we always fix monopolies in this country. You are going to have to take an antitrust suit.”
Listen to the whole interview below:
Judging by the leaked draft order and by Sessions’ upcoming meeting, Landry may very well get exactly what he’s looking for.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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