By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 9-23-20

President Donald Trump told Republican state attorneys general Wednesday (Sept. 23) that the First Amendment needs protecting from “censorship, cancel culture, and consumer abuses inflicted by Big Tech companies,” companies he suggested were waging war on free enterprise and free expression.

The president issued an executive order in May in an effort to regulate social media over allegations of systematic censorship of conservative speech. It included a directive that the Department of Justice work with state attorneys general to “combat deceptive and misleading online practices.”

The White House meeting and a meeting between Attorney General Bill Barr and the AGs on Thursday (Sept. 24) are responsive to that.

Among those also at the meeting were Barr and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), one of Big Tech’s biggest critics and a former Republican attorney general. » Read More