President Trump Vows to Veto Defense Bill if Congress Does Not Repeal Section 230

Let the First Amendment lawsuits begin!

Trump Threatens to Veto Defense Bill if Congress Does Not Repeal Section 230

By: Annaliese Levy, Sara Carter, Dec 2, 2020

President Donald Trump has threatened to veto the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual defense spending bill, unless Congress agrees to repeal Section 230.

The president tweeted Tuesday night that Section 230, is “a serious threat to our National Security & Election Integrity.”

He added “our country can never be safe or secure if we allow it to stand.”

Section 230, which is a liability shielding gift from the U.S. to “Big Tech” (the only companies in America that have it – corporate welfare!), is a serious threat to our National Security & Election Integrity. Our Country can never be safe & secure if we allow it to stand…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2020

Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act provides tech companies with liability protections against illegal content posted by third-party users.

It shields companies from being sued and also allows platforms to moderate their content.

“If the very dangerous & unfair Section 230 is not completely terminated as part of the National Defense Authorization Act . . . I will be forced to unequivocally VETO the Bill,” Trump continued.

…..Therefore, if the very dangerous & unfair Section 230 is not completely terminated as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), I will be forced to unequivocally VETO the Bill when sent to the very beautiful Resolute desk. Take back America NOW. Thank you!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2020

Trump has been very critical of Section 230, arguing that it provides a loophole that prevents companies from being held accountable and has led to the censorship of conservatives. Trump’s threat to veto the NDAA is his latest move in his battle against the social media companies.

Social media and tech giants claim that Section 230 is critical to their continued existence. Still, critics of the big tech giants point out that because Twitter, Facebook and Google, for example, operate as publishers, they no longer deserve immunity from content uploaded by third parties.

The CEOs of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey, met with the Senate Commerce Committee in October to talk about Section 230.

“Section 230 is the most important law protecting internet speech. In removing Section 230, we will remove speech from the internet,” Dorsey said during his testimony.