The Biden administration is taking its fight against Facebook to the next level. It’s looking into how to hold social media platforms liable for publishing misinformation. As of now, the companies are protected under Section 230—a law that provides legal immunity to websites that moderate user-generated content. The White House is calling on social media companies to take a more aggressive stance on combating misinformation. Former Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker says that the federal government is coordinating with social media platforms to silence Americans’ voices, and that it’s clearly a violation of Americans’ First Amendment rights.
This comes as President Joe Biden clarified the statement he made last week when he said Facebook’s misinformation was “killing people.” He’s since backtracked and said Facebook isn’t killing people. Biden said, “My hope is that Facebook, instead of taking it personally, that somehow I’m saying Facebook is killing people, that they would do something about the misinformation, the outrageous misinformation about the vaccine. That’s what I meant.”
