These are some of the steps or plans in his free speech policies, which seem to be more aimed a government changes more than any particular company.
- Executive Order: Ban federal agencies from collaborating with external entities, like big tech companies, to censor speech. This includes actions against labeling free speech as misinformation or disinformation.
- Firing Bureaucrats: Identify and fire federal bureaucrats involved in domestic censorship, targeting officials in DHS, HHS, FBI, DOJ, and other agencies.
- DOJ Investigation: Investigate how federal agencies may have worked with private companies to suppress lawful speech.
- Section 230 Reform: Push for reform to ensure tech companies only receive immunity if they adhere to high standards of neutrality, transparency, fairness, and non-discrimination.
- Cutting Funding: Cut federal funding for nonprofits and academic programs that support censorship, such as flagging social media content.
- Digital Bill of Rights: Propose a “digital bill of rights” to guarantee digital due process, this would require government officials to secure a court order before taking down content rather than making direct requests to tech companies
- Preservation Letters: Urge Republicans to send preservation letters to the Biden administration, Biden campaign, and tech companies to prevent the destruction of documents related to censorship activities.
- Criminal Penalties: Propose criminal penalties for federal employees who collude with private companies to censor Americans, with a cooling-off period before working for tech companies.
In 2020, Trump already signed an order with similar objectives, but it had limited impact because according to legal experts, an executive order cannot amend Section 230 or override judicial interpretations of the law.
In particular, an executive order cannot amend Section 230 or overrule the hundreds of state and federal judicial decisions that have interpreted it since its passage in 1996.
Moreover, although the NTIA’s petition attempts to justify relying on FCC action to “clarify” the scope and operation of Section 230, it is far from clear that the agency has the authority to issue interpretations of Section 230 that would bind social media platforms or others, and an executive order cannot expand the statutory limitations on that agency’s regulatory authority.
In 2021 Biden revoked the order.
I have not found until now commentary or analysis about the current proposed policies, or implications for Meta, but I will probably continue tomorrow on it.
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2024-republican-party-platform