Washington, D.C. — After President Donald Trump signed an executive order regarding social media, Adam Conner, vice president for Technology Policy at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement:
When President Trump lies online about voting by mail—when it is a time-tested way to ensure that people can vote safely and securely during the pandemic—it is just another example in the Trump administration’s long assault on our constitutionally protected right to vote.
When President Trump singles out an individual or company for abuse on Twitter, that often means they are doing something right. While Twitter still has much to do to combat the spread of false information and abuse on its platform overall, it recognized the imminent harm to our elections caused by the president’s disinformation and provided additional context to his lies. Other platforms should act similarly to protect our elections.
This executive order appears to thumb its nose at the Constitution and the First Amendment and to rewrite law that Congress put in place—a transparent attempt by President Trump to abuse his power to pursue his petty and political grievances.
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