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The Center for Democracy & Technology sued President Donald Trump on Tuesday, alleging his executive order on social media violates the First Amendment.
Driving the news: The nonprofit advocacy organization argues Trump was retaliating against Twitter for labeling his tweets, and asks a federal court to declare the order unlawful.
- The lawsuit says the order "seeks to curtail and chill the constitutionally protected speech of all online platforms and individuals— by demonstrating the willingness to use government authority to retaliate against those who criticize the government."
- "The President has made clear his intent to use threats of retaliation and future regulation to intimidate intermediaries into changing how they moderate content, essentially ensuring that the dangers of voter suppression and disinformation will grow unchecked in an election year," CDT President Alexandra Givens said in a statement.
Details: The executive order, signed last week by the president, targets the legal protections online platforms have from liability over content their users post.
- It was panned by a wide range of groups, and legal experts have expressed doubts it will be carried out.