WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department is preparing to propose legislation soon to try to remove protections that big tech platforms like Alphabet’s Google and Facebook have had for decades, a department official said on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
President Donald Trump said in late May he would propose legislation that may scrap or weaken a law that has protected internet companies, including Twitter, in an extraordinary attempt to regulate social media platforms where he has been criticised.
The Justice Department plans to make a legislative proposal that Congress would have to pass, according to the Wall Street Journal, which was first to report the proposal.
Trump wants to “remove or change” a provision of a law known as Section 230 that shields social media companies from liability for content posted by their users. – June 17, 2020, Reuters