Ajit Pai calls for “vigorous debate” on Trump’s social media crackdown

Enlarge / FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. (credit: Getty Images | Bloomberg)

The Federal Communications Commission today asked the public for responses to the Trump administration's attempt to punish social media websites for alleged anti-conservative bias.

"Longstanding rules require the agency to put such petitions out for public comment 'promptly,' and we will follow that requirement here," FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said.

Trump issued an executive order in May, instructing the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to petition the FCC for a new interpretation of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that would limit social media platforms' legal protections for hosting third-party content when the platforms take down content they consider objectionable.

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