Trump move could scrap or weaken law that protects social media companies

U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a front page of the New York Post as he speaks to reporters while discussing an executive order on social media companies in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., May 28, 2020. - Reuters

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said he will introduce legislation that may scrap or weaken a law that has protected internet companies, including Twitter and Facebook, in an extraordinary attempt to regulate social media platforms where he has been criticized.

The proposed legislation is part of an executive order Trump signed on Thursday afternoon. Trump had attacked Twitter for tagging his tweets about unsubstantiated claims of fraud about mail-in voting with a warning prompting readers to fact-check the posts.