US President Donald Trump signs executive order regarding liability protections for social media companies

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order regarding liability protections for social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook for content posted on these platforms.

The president claimed that the move aims to defend free speech from one of the gravest dangers it has faced in American history. The move came after Twitter applied fact checks to two of President Trump's tweets.

Trump said the fact checks were editorial



decisions by Twitter and amounted to political activism. He said the companies should not be able to avail protection from lawsuits for what is posted on their platforms.

The order directs executive branch agencies to ask independent rule-making agencies including the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to study whether they can place new regulations on the companies.