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Trump’s ‘Convoluted’ Executive Order Targeting Twitter and Facebook Lacks ‘Real Teeth,’ Legal Experts Say

President Trump’s latest executive order, targeting the legal protections that allow tech companies like Twitter and Facebook to moderate content without being sued, is unlikely to result in sweeping changes, according to legal experts. The order, signed on Thursday, calls for the Federal Communications Commission to review Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a law that gives tech companies the ability to censor or moderate content on their platforms. Section 230, which was enacted in 1996, is also the legal shield that safeguards tech companies from being sued for what its users post. If Section 230 were to be curtailed or changed, it could become a major liability for Twitter, Facebook and Google-owned YouTube. Still, the president does not have the authority to alter Section 230 — and his executive order underscores this fact, according to Olivier Sylvain, a law professor at Fordham University. “I think it’s a big deal that the president thinks he should be able to do this, but it doesn’t have any real teeth,” Sylvain told TheWrap. “As a matter of law and legal governance, [the executive order] is full of problems.” One issue, according to Sylvain, is that Trump’s executive order asks the Secretary...

Read original story Trump’s ‘Convoluted’ Executive Order Targeting Twitter and Facebook Lacks ‘Real Teeth,’ Legal Experts Say At TheWrap