Trump Administration to Challenge Social Media Censorship, Setting Stage for Conflict with EU Regulations

President-elect Donald Trump and his administration are preparing to quash the “censorship cartel” among social media platforms, creating stark contrasts with European regulations.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plan to restrict Meta Platforms Inc’s META Facebook and Alphabet Inc GOOGL GOOG YouTube from moderating content and penalizing advertisers boycotting less restrictive platforms, the New York Times reports.

Previously, the censorship prompted Meta’s Facebook to ban Trump from January 6, 2021, to January 7, 2023, for allegedly being instrumental to the Capital Hill riot. Twitter (now known as X) followed suit.

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Brendan Carr, a current Republican FCC member and Trump’s pick to lead the agency, has proposed expanding its oversight to regulate significant tech firms. Andrew Ferguson, slated to chair the FTC, plans to use antitrust laws against perceived speech suppression by large platforms.

In contrast, the European Union’s Digital Services Act and similar national laws in countries like Germany and the UK mandate swift removal of illegal content and impose severe penalties for violations.

Elon Musk’s X (since he snapped the company in 2022) faces ongoing scrutiny under European laws for failing to address disinformation.

Musk actively championed free speech and supported Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign. Trump shares his perspectives on Truth Social, the platform owned by Trump Media & Technology Group Corp DJT, where he holds a majority stake.

Additionally, Trump urged the Supreme Court to postpone enforcement of a law that could block the TikTok app. The Court is scheduled to hear arguments on January 10 that could prompt TikTok’s parent, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. operations by January 19 or face a ban. The shift departs from Trump’s 2020 push to ban TikTok over its Chinese ownership.

Price Actions: DJT stock was down 4.01% at $34.63 at the last check on Monday. RDDT is down 3.50%, META is down 0.67%, GOOGL is down 0.30%, and SNAP is down 0.59%.

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