The battle between Twitter and Trump is escalating, and this might not end well for the rest of us. Twitter today restricted a tweet from Trump, soon after he issued an executive order signaling for scrutiny of online platforms for political bias. Trump's order achieves little, but it remains a threat that could change the way the Internet works, especially in countries where institutions are not very strong and governments are already pushing for changes on how social media is being regulated. How platforms are able to allow us to upload our content online The reason why we can upload content on sites like YouTube, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, every forum, all blogs (and write comments) is because Section 230(c) of the US Communications Decency Act provides safe harbor: the platform or the ISP is not liable for content that you and I create. Only we are liable for our content. This is why Facebook allows you to post on Facebook. Blogs and Reddit allow you to comment. YouTube allows you to upload your videos. ISPs allow you to create your own website. Therefore, Section 230 (c) of the Communications Decency Act 230 (in India, Section 79 of the Information Technology Act) actually protect the platforms that enable our free speech. [caption id="attachment_215609" align="aligncenter" width="375"] Section 230(c) of the CDA. Source: govinfo.gov[/caption] Section 230(c) allows these platforms to impose their own community standards and "in good faith", actually violate free speech rights of US citizens by restricting access to content which…
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