Trump slams Twitter for ‘stifling free speech,’ reiterates call to end Section 230
Sen. Graham tweets Trump will sign COVID-19 bill if Congress gets rid of Section 230
President Trump launched his latest attack against Twitter on Christmas Eve, accusing the company of "going wild with their flags" and "trying hard to suppress even the truth," referring to his continued baseless claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
"Just shows how dangerous they are, purposely stifling free speech. Very dangerous for our country," Trump added. "Does Congress know that this is how Communism starts? Cancel Culture at its worst."
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Trump also reitered his call to end Section 230, a provision in the Communications Decency Act which offers protections that shield social media companies from liability in relation to content posted on their platforms by third parties. The law has continued to remain in Trump's crosshairs, with the president citing it as the reason for vetoing the $740 billion 2021 National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday.
"Your failure to terminate the very dangerous national security risk of Section 230 will make our intelligence virtually impossible to conduct without everyone knowing what we are doing at every step," Trump said. "Section 230 facilitates the spread of foreign disinformation online, which is a serious threat to our national security and election integrity. It must be repealed."
Trump, along with congressional GOP officials, claim that social media firms like Twitter and Facebook unfairly censor conservative content without consequence. The companies have insisted, however, that their content policies are enforced without any political bias.
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South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has also claimed that Trump would support the recently passed $2.3 trillion COVID-19 omnibus bill if Section 230 was repealed.
Trump slammed the bill on Tuesday as a "disgrace", calling for Congress to make an amendment that would increase direct payments to Americans from $600 to $2,000. He also warned that if "wasteful and unnecessary items" are not removed from the legislation, the next administration will have to deliver a COVID-19 relief package.
In addition to direct payments of $600 to individuals, the package also includes increased jobless benefits, another round of funding for the Paycheck Protection Program for small business loans, and funds to help distribute COVID-19 vaccines.