Trump Announces Order to Violate The Bill of Rights
In yet another step toward Trumpist fascism, Trump has announced he’s signing an executive order to curb Twitter’s (and other social media platforms) ability to moderate content posted there. Trump has regularly violated community standards on Twitter, spouting lies, conspiracy theories, personal attacks, and even accusations of murder. Twitter, and Facebook for that matter, regularly police their platforms for fake news, bots, trolls, and threats. Frankly, the job they do is inconsistent and generally piss-poor, allowing shocking content to stay posted. The cancer within social media is the persistent presence of bots and troll which sow discontent, conflict, and dis-information to billions of users.
Up until this weekend, Twitter has allowed Trump to run rampant with no moderation, spreading bile sometimes hundreds of times a day. The tipping point was his posting of lies and conspiracy theories this weekend about voting by mail. Trump knows that the more people who vote, the less his chance of being reelected. Let’s be clear about his intent. He’s not concerned about non-existent voter fraud. He’s concerned about Americans voting. Period. If there were free and fair elections with easy access to a ballot Trump will get walloped by double digits. He and this toads know that, so he’s waging an all out war against voting by mail, even illegally threatening states by withholding appropriated funds from them (just like he did when he has attempting to extort Ukraine to get at Joe Biden).
My belief is this executive order will be just more Trump double speak to rile up his base and give him and Press Room Barbie more bile they can spread on national television and Twitter. Trump is an ignorant, boorish, self-centered blowhard and everyone knows it, including actual lawyers. Those lawyers know that the President of the United States attempting to stifle private parties that displease him is the textbook example of government violation of free speech rights.
Let’s review. The First Amendment says,
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
The highlight is mine. The First Amendment is designed to prevent the Congress from passing laws that abridge freedom of expression, but case law over the centuries has established a general foundation that prevents the government from controlling what individuals can say or do. Twitter and other social media platforms are private and establish terms of service and community standards of conduct. Trump isn’t forced to use Twitter, he CHOSE it rather than what previous presidents have done by communicating to the People through press briefings and official statements. He has cynically used Twitter specifically to spout bullshit that the press would (and does) immediately call him on. He hates that, continuously trying to circumvent any fact checking by spewing his bile directly through the platform.
If Twitter is guilty of anything, it’s allowing this to go on far too long. Any other individual spreading the kinds of personal attacks, libel, and outright falsehoods would have been banned long ago. If Twitter would just cut him off, he would be forced to go back to conventional means of communication. They opened this can of worms to drive more traffic to the platform and have looked the other way for years, so this crisis is as much their fault as Trump’s.
Trump’s executive order won’t really change anything except intimidate Twitter from any further attempts at moderation of his stream of daily manure that he spews. I predict that, like his other jaw dropping conduct, will work and Twitter will back down, even though they should ban him today.
I choose to not use Twitter, only to be tarnished by it’s overflow into the rest of the inter-tubes. But I’m pretty sure as a private platform they hold all the keys. I just wonder if somewhere there isn’t a bean counter who is tallying the economic hazard and benefit of outright banning Boss Tweet. It is entirely within their purview…
1From your mouths to God’s ear.
2Someone should step on DJT’s neck and read the Constitution to him. Especially the First Amendment.
3Let’s not let greedy dweeb Jack Dorsey off the hook.
4Question for Trump: If social media should be responsible for content posted, does this mean Hillary Clinton can sue them for the various lies posted about her?
5As I read things, he won’t be doing anything directly to hinder free speech but will instead remove some of the protections social media powers enjoy against libel and slander by posts on their sites.
6I’ve never used Facebook or Twitter because I’ve not had the time and it just didn’t interest me. I’m amazed that people take things so seriously on these platforms and I’m doubly glad I didn’t join in.
7https://www.contactphonenumberaddress.com/twitter-corporate-headquarters-office-address-phone-number-email-id/
I think Twitter should hear from all of us about this outrageous move of Trump’s. If they roll over and let him intimidate him, this won’t be good (an understatement if I ever made one). They need to keep those warnings up or just ban him. Wouldn’t that be awesome?
8Trump should boycott Twitter. That would teach them a good lesson.
Next time he gets the urge to repeat an insane conspiracy theory or threaten another country or criticize a woman’s appearance, he can open the window and yell.
9Trump should just say it:
As President, I can shout “Fire!” In a crowded pre- & post-COVID-19 theater without consequence.
10I am with Grandma Ada on this.
11The First Article of the Constitution fails to ban the behavior cited in the Second Article.
Since Constitutions generally apply to the behavior of government … and since f-Book & Twit-er are businesses, it falls to the Courts to apply restrictions on enterprise. The history of the res justii, concerning enterprise open to the public, is to apply Constitutional restrictions to their operations. That means Trump will have his Executive order nullified, and the restrictions on (political) speech will be disallowed.
In republi-can’ts & -cons terms … everyone losses.
12Jonathon Hubbert says:
“the restrictions on (political) speech will be disallowed.”
However – –
13When you sign up with Twitter, Facebook, et al you agree to their terms and conditions. Trump breaks those rules frequently. Other people who have engaged in far less vitriolic posts have had accounts suspended or terminated.