In response to the news that Elon Musk had purchased Twitter, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday that the Biden administration was interested in Section 230 reform, and warned that tech companies must be held accountable for the promotion of disinformation and other “harms” they caused.
As Valiant News reported, the African-American billionaire bought Twitter for $44 billion on Monday, after he declared that the platform must return to being a private company in order to protect free speech and democracy from attack.
However, the Biden administration did not seem too thrilled with the Musk’s purchase. While refusing to comment on the purchase in very specific terms, Psaki said at a press conference on Monday shortly after the news broke that the administration and Biden have “long been concerned” about the power of Big Tech platforms.
“[Biden has] long argued that tech platforms must be held accountable for the harms they cause,” Psaki said, adding that the administration strongly supports reforms of Section 230, and anti-trust reforms “in order to achieve that goal.”
PSAKI: "No matter who owns or runs Twitter, the president has long been concerned about the power of large social media platforms, the power they have over our everyday lives. He's long argued that tech platforms must be held accountable for the harms they cause." pic.twitter.com/9KTSrBYiSM
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 25, 2022
Andrea Shalal from Reuters asked Psaki if there was any concern that now with Musk in charge that “purveyors of election misinformation, disinformation, health falsehoods” would have “more of an opportunity to speak” on the platform.
In response, the White House Press Secretary reiterated that the administration was concerned about the power of Twitter and other platforms to “spread misinformation, disinformation,” and especially noting that they needed to be “held accountable,” although Psaki did not specify who to, or what would be classified as misinformation or disinformation.
Psaki on Musk buying Twitter: "[O]ur concerns are not new. We've long talked about and the President has long talked about his concerns about the power of social platforms, including Twitter…to spread misinformation, disinformation, the need for [them] to be held accountable." pic.twitter.com/clfzPEWcWA
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 25, 2022
Psaki did suggest that the Biden administration would want to continue to try and influence the direction of Twitter when it came to the posting of “misinformation,” especially relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We engage regularly with all social media platforms about steps that can be taken. That has continued and it sure it will continue,” Psaki added.
Psaki says the Biden administration would support "reforming Section 230, enacting anti-trust reforms," and "requiring more transparency" on social media in order to combat COVID-19 misinformation pic.twitter.com/XxdpQwPGLs
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) April 25, 2022
The announcement from Psaki marks an about-face in policy from the Biden administration. Despite her claims that they had always been in favour of Big Tech regulation, Biden’s Justice Department only last year intervened in a lawsuit brought against Twitter by President Trump in order to defend the constitutionality of Section 230.
