“President Trump is committed to protecting the rights of all Americans to express their views and not face unwarranted restrictions or selective censorship by a handful of powerful companies,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.
FCC spokesman Brian Hart said the agency will carefully review the petition.
Under Trump’s executive order in May, a Commerce Department branch known as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration was expected to ask the FCC to “clarify” Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the law that It has protected technology companies from many internet contention litigation since its approval in 1996.
Trump’s social media order was introduced and signed days after Twitter applied a warning tag to his tweets that said they were “potentially misleading.” Twitter highlighted two of Trump’s tweets that claimed, without evidence, that voting by mail would lead to widespread electoral fraud. Later, Trump threatened to “strongly regulate” or shut down social media platforms. Since then, Trump has continued his attacks on Twitter.
Legal experts say the executive order is on shaky ground, as the FCC has traditionally avoided regulating internet companies. The order already faces at least one legal challenge that it claims is unconstitutional.
Jessica Rosenworcel, FCC Democratic Commissioner, said the agency should avoid the request.
“The FCC should not bite this hook,” Rosenworcel said in a statement. “While social media can be frustrating, turning this agency into the president’s police speech is not the answer. If we honor the Constitution, we will reject this request immediately.”
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