Trump: It’s ‘dangerous’ when Facebook and Twitter self-regulate content

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he believes it’s “dangerous” for companies like Facebook and Twitter to self-regulate content on their platforms, according to an interview with Reuters.

“I won’t mention names but when they take certain people off of Twitter or Facebook and they’re making that decision, that is really a dangerous thing because that could be you tomorrow,” Trump told the news agency.

{mosads} The President’s comments come as the social media companies face blowback over allegations that their platforms are biased against conservatives.

Trump accused Twitter of censoring conservatives in a tweet last month.

“We will look into this discriminatory and illegal practice at once! Many complaints,” he tweeted.

Over the weekend President Trump reiterated that “Social Media is totally discriminating against Republican/Conservative voices” in a series of tweets. 

Social Media is totally discriminating against Republican/Conservative voices. Speaking loudly and clearly for the Trump Administration, we won’t let that happen. They are closing down the opinions of many people on the RIGHT, while at the same time doing nothing to others…….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 18, 2018

…..Censorship is a very dangerous thing & absolutely impossible to police. If you are weeding out Fake News, there is nothing so Fake as CNN & MSNBC, & yet I do not ask that their sick behavior be removed. I get used to it and watch with a grain of salt, or don’t watch at all..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 18, 2018

….Too many voices are being destroyed, some good & some bad, and that cannot be allowed to happen. Who is making the choices, because I can already tell you that too many mistakes are being made. Let everybody participate, good & bad, and we will all just have to figure it out!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 18, 2018 

Twitter has rejected the claim that it “shadow bans” or censors any political ideologies.

Others like House Majority Republican Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) have vocally criticized technology companies over what they perceive as an anti-conservative bias.

Facebook and Twitter are dealing with scrutiny over how they police and enforce content that violates their user policies.

Some have called for them to ramp up their enforcement of harmful pages that push hoaxes, which culminated in Alex Jones’s removal from Facebook and his temporary ban on Twitter.

The move earned both companies criticism from some conservative lawmakers including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who said that the move threatens free speech.

“Am no fan of Jones — among other things he has a habit of repeatedly slandering my Dad by falsely and absurdly accusing him of killing JFK — but who the hell made Facebook the arbiter of political speech? Free speech includes views you disagree with,” Cruz tweeted.

Both companies have said that they don’t censor based on ideology.

Groups on the left including Black Lives Matter have also expressed their frustrations with Facebook’s moderation policies.