Trump signs executive order aimed at regulating social media as US death toll passes 101,000 – live

Here’s our tech reporter Julia Carrie Wong’s take on the Trump executive order aimed at regulating social media:

The president’s executive order on social media will kick off a heated debate over free speech on the internet that will, in all likelihood, lead to nothing. This manufactured dispute is a distraction for the media, and it will almost certainly be an effective one. It would be in everyone’s interest – including its own – if Twitter pulled the plug on this specious debate, banned Trump for repeated and egregious violations of its rules, and helped us all focus on what’s more important.

• More than 100,000 people in the United States have died of Covid-19, more than any other nation in the world. The figure is probably an undercount.
• More than 1.7 million people in the US have had confirmed cases of Covid-19, more than any other nation in the world. The figure is almost certainly an undercount.
• The US federal government completely botched the rollout of testing for the coronavirus at the beginning of the pandemic and continues to lag in providing adequate testing for its populace.

Read her opinion column in its entirety:

Before signing his social media executive order, Trump once again criticized states’ efforts to expand vote by mail.

The president argued mass vote by mail would turn US elections into a “total joke.” “There’s such fraud and abuse,” Trump said of vote by mail, even though voter fraud is actually very rare.

Repeating a false claim that was fact-checked by Twitter, Trump said, “Anybody in California that’s breathing gets a ballot.” When a reporter tried to correct the president, Trump cut him off, saying, “I’m not finished.”

In reality, California governor Gavin Newsom has only asked local officials to mail ballots to registered voters.

When a reporter noted this, Trump replied, “Oh really? So when he sends out 28 million ballots and they’re in all the mailboxes and kids go and they raid the mailboxes and they hand them to people that are signing the ballots … you don’t think that happens?” There is no evidence that this is happening.

Even as Trump signed his social media executive order, he acknowledged it could be vulnerable to legal challenges.

For example, the order looks to modify Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which grants liability protections to social media companies.

However, experts have said Section 230 would almost certainly have to be amended by Congress, and the president appeared to acknowledge this.

“I guess it’s going to be challenged in court, but what isn’t?” Trump said of the order, according to the White House pool report.

When asked about trying to shut down Twitter, the president similarly said there were legal hurdles with that proposal. “I’d have to go through a legal process,” Trump said.

The president’s social media executive order comes a day after the US coronavirus death toll surpassed 100,000.

Trump addressed the death toll in a tweet this morning, but commentators quesioned why he did not deliver any kind of remarks to commemorate the lives lost to coronavirus.

In contrast to his relative quiet about the grim milestone, Trump has sent off several tweets criticizing Twitter for fact-checking his false claims about vote by mail, and he has now signed an executive order aimed at regulating social media companies.

The president’s critics suggested that the order was nothing more than an attempt to deflect attention away from the coronavirus death toll and Trump’s response to the pandemic.

As he prepared to sign his social media executive order, Trump complained about Twitter fact-checking two of his inaccurate tweets, calling the effort “political activism.”

“We’re here today to defend free speech from one of the greatest dangers,” Trump said, slamming social media companies as a “monopoly.”

When asked why he had not deleted his Twitter account if he thinks the platform is biased, Trump blamed the media.

“If we had fair press in this country I would do that in a heartbeat,” Trump said.

The 2020 Boston Marathon, which was originally supposed to occur last month, has now been canceled.

The city initially delayed the event, which brings in more than $200 million to Boston’s economy, from April to September out of concern about the spread of coronavirus.

Boston mayor Marty Walsh said the decision to postpone was made with the hope that coronavirus “would no longer be a significant public health risk” by September, but officials no longer feel confident in that.

“Economically, it’s a big hit there’s no question about it,” Walsh said. “This entire three months has been a big hit for most sectors economically.

“Certainly we’re feeling it in our budget, our restaurants are feeling it, our small businesses are feeling it. Many of our offices are feeling it. We’ll survive. It might be a different reality for a lot of people.”

The House has voted to send the FISA bill to a conference committee with the Senate, after Republican members turned against the bill at the urging of the president.

The House voted 284-122 to send the bill, which would reauthorize three expired surveillance programs, to committee.

The vote will give lawmakers a chance to renegotiate a new version of the bill that may be more appealing to Trump, who said he would veto the legislation the House had been prepared to vote on yesterday.

But considering the president has conflated the reauthorization with the Obama administration’s surveillance that led to the firing of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, it will probably be difficult to craft a bill to Trump’s liking.