by Dan Moren
Untangling the executive order on social media
Really good line-by-line breakdown by The Verge’s Adi Robertson of President Trump’s executive order targeting social media sites and other online platforms:
It’s hard to capture just how badly this order mangles free speech and the entire legislative process. But one of its worst flaws is a common one: making rules that assume every website is Facebook. We’ve said over and over that Section 230 is not “a gift to big tech companies.” It’s a gift to the internet. Trump’s order makes that clearer than ever – because unlike even a fairly similar proposal from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), its “online platform” definition explicitly targets all websites, not just the biggest by users or revenue.
This is a piece worth reading: if even a portion of this executive order ends up being enforced, it potentially puts the fundamental nature of the Internet in danger.