Egyptian authorities race to contain fallout from fatal telecom fire    Egypt's electricity, public enterprises ministers discuss expanding renewables in energy-intensive industries    Escalation in Gaza as ceasefire talks remain fragile amid mounting humanitarian crisis    UK, Egypt strengthen cooperation on green transition, eco-tourism, and environmental investments    Egypt's bourse, clearing house say settlement, connectivity unharmed by Ramsis blaze    CPME shareholders approve EGP 2.8bn acquisition of Qardy, Catalyst Partners Holding    Philippines' unemployment rate falls in May '25    Gold prices dip on stronger US Treasury yields    Egypt, Somalia leaders discuss strategic partnership, counterterrorism in New Alamein    Egypt, UNDP discuss expanded cooperation on medical waste management, human development    CIB finances Giza Pyramids Sound and Light Show redevelopment with EGP 963m loan    Egypt's PM, Uruguay's president discuss Gaza, trade at BRICS summit    Egypt, Uruguay eager to expand trade across key sectors    Egypt, Norway hold informal talks ahead of global plastic treaty negotiations    Greco-Roman tombs with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Aswan    Global tour for Korean 'K-Comics' launches in Cairo with 'Hellbound' exhibition    Egypt teams up with private sector to boost university rankings    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Egypt condemns deadly terrorist attack in Niger        Egypt's EHA, Schneider Electric sign MoU on sustainable infrastructure    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's EDA joins high-level Africa-Europe medicines regulatory talks    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Trump threatens social media after Twitter fact-checks him
Published in Ahram Online on 27 - 05 - 2020

President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened social media companies with new regulation or even shuttering after Twitter moved a day earlier to add fact checks to two of his tweets.
The president can't unilaterally regulate or close the companies, which would require action by Congress or the Federal Communications Commission. But that didn't stop Trump from angrily issuing a strong warning.
Claiming tech giants ``silence conservative voices,'' Trump tweeted, ``We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen.''
And he repeated his unsubstantiated claim _ which sparked his latest showdown with Silicon Valley _ that expanding mail-in voting ``would be a free for all on cheating, forgery and the theft of Ballots.''
Trump and his campaign angrily lashed out Tuesday after Twitter added a warning phrase to two Trump tweets that called mail-in ballots ``fraudulent'' and predicted that ``mail boxes will be robbed,'' among other things. Under the tweets, there is now a link reading ``Get the facts about mail-in ballots'' that guides users to a Twitter ``moments'' page with fact checks and news stories about Trump's unsubstantiated claims.
Trump replied on Twitter, accusing the platform of ``interfering in the 2020 Presidential Election'' and insisting that ``as president, I will not allow this to happen.'' His 2020 campaign manager, Brad Parscale, said Twitter's ``clear political bias'' had led the campaign to pull ``all our advertising from Twitter months ago.'' Twitter has banned all political advertising since last November.
Trump did not explain his threat Wednesday, and the call to expand regulation appeared to fly in the face of long-held conservative principles on deregulation.
But some Trump allies, who have alleged bias on the part of tech companies, have questioned whether platforms like Twitter and Facebook should continue to enjoy liability protections as ``platforms'' under federal law _ or be treated more like publishers, which could face lawsuits over content.
The protections have been credited with allowing the unfettered growth of the internet for more than two decades, but now some Trump allies are advocating that social media companies face more scrutiny.
``Big tech gets a huge handout from the federal government,`` Republican Sen. Josh Hawley told Fox News. ``They get this special immunity, this special immunity from suits and from liability that's worth billions of dollars to them every year. Why are they getting subsidized by federal taxpayers to censor conservatives, to censor people critical of China.''


Clic here to read the story from its source.