President Trump has warned in the past, “We will not tolerate political censorship, blacklisting, and rigged search results.” This is a test that will determine whether or not that warning has any teeth.
The agreement President Trump signed to replace NAFTA, the USMCA, has language written into it that gives tech giants like Facebook legal privilege to censor anyone they find “objectionable,” which, of course, means Conservatives. The President is threatening Congress if they don’t ratify the agreement, and it’s clear he doesn’t realize the potential ramifications to his supporters.
One thing we know about social media giants is they cannot be trusted. They sneaked liability protection into the trade bill under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. This will allow them to continue the anti-American censorship of Conservatives, just as they did prior to the midterm elections. Article 19.17 of the trade agreement will give these sites immunity from lawsuits, so there will be no legal recourse.
Perhaps the worst part about this agreement is Section 230 will make it nearly impossible to take the legal immunity these Liberal-owned social media sites enjoy away. President Trump can’t amend it, because he’s already signed-off on the bill. Congress can act to amend the NAFTA agreement; however they’ll have to act quickly.
Once the USMCA agreement been ratified by the U.S, Canada, and Mexico, it will be a much more difficult process to amend it. One that requires the agreement and cooperation of all three nations. Canada doesn’t have a First Amendment, so it’s doubtful that a country that advocates for the censorship of speech will back such an amendment.
We need to appeal to the President to give Congress more time so they can amend the agreement. We also need to appeal to Congress to make the amendments. Senators Josh Hawley and Marsha Blackburn are known to be enemies of Silicon Valley, and they will be sworn in this January. It is critical that the President delay canceling NAFTA to force Congress to sign quickly.
President Trump has warned in the past, “We will not tolerate political censorship, blacklisting, and rigged search results.” This is a test that will determine whether or not that warning has any teeth.
Starla Simms December 10, 2018
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