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Bulletins

AT&T throws support behind Trump's Section 230 executive order

Emily Birnbaum
August 31, 2020

The company says it believes "online platforms should be more accountable for, and more transparent about, the decisions they control that fundamentally shape how we communicate."

AT&T, which has its own rivalries with social media companies, said it will argue that Section 230 has enabled "gross disparities in legal treatment" between the dominant online platforms and traditional publishers like newspapers and television businesses.

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In some ways, it's unsurprising that AT&T would come out in favor of an order that targets social media networks, considering it is currently battling Google and Facebook for advertising dollars. But it's a hefty boost for Trump's Section 230 cause nonetheless, as AT&T wields considerable power in Washington, D.C.

Emily Birnbaum

Emily Birnbaum ( @birnbaum_e) is a tech policy reporter with Protocol. Her coverage focuses on the U.S. government's attempts to regulate one of the most powerful industries in the world, with a focus on antitrust, privacy and politics. Previously, she worked as a tech policy reporter with The Hill after spending several months as a breaking news reporter. She is a Bethesda, Maryland native and proud Kenyon College alumna.

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