US President Donald Trump entered the Oval Office on January 20 and issued a flurry of Executive Orders (EO), many of which repealed actions taken under his predecessor Joe Biden. MediaNama looks at some of these orders, especially the ones concerning the nation’s tech and digital policies.
Delaying The TikTok Ban:
Trump issued an EO delaying the implementation of the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” which was passed by the US House of Representatives last year under Biden. The Act specifically targeted ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the popular social media app TikTok, and other “foreign-adversary” controlled applications. Citing national security concerns, the law forced ByteDance to either sell off TikTok or have it practically banned in the United States.
True to his earlier promise, Trump signed an EO delaying the ban, pending a review of the cited national security concerns. He instructed the US Justice Department to not implement the Act and restrain from imposing any penalties for violations indefinitely. He also prohibited states and other private parties from enforcing the Act independently.
TikTok went offline temporarily in the US after the Supreme Court denied a last-ditch appeal made by the company. It became accessible only hours later, however, as Trump announced on Truth Social about his plans to rescind the ban. App stores still aren’t willing to take that risk, as TikTok remains unlisted for both Android and iOS users.
All is not well for TikTok, however, as an EO might not be enough to save the app. Experts interviewed by NPR stated that Presidential Orders don’t technically change an act of Congress and may be challenged in court. This might be why both Google and Apple are playing it safe, as the law would hold them liable for billions of dollars in fines. Meanwhile, the hawks are circling—both Instagram and X have moved into the three-minute video content segment, a category once dominated by TikTok in the US, while Amazon-funded AI company Perplexity seeks a merger with TikTok US.
Rescinding Biden’s EO On Safe AI:
Trump began his Presidential term by rolling back almost 80 Biden-era EOs, many of which contained measures to combat climate change, manage refugees and promote social equality. The White House stated that Biden had embedded “unpopular, inflationary, illegal, and radical practices” into the administration.
One of those Orders also included a 2023 direction from Biden outlining measures for ensuring AI safety and security, citizen privacy, equity, protection of consumers and workers’ rights, and promoting innovation.
Biden’s EO contained a number of provisions meant to regulate the use of AI, including requiring developers of powerful AI systems to share safety test results with the government. It also regulated the use of AI by the defense establishment and mandated the creation of a cybersecurity program. The order also contained provisions protecting the privacy rights of American citizens and prohibited AI-enabled discriminatory practices, alongside measures to protect workers from AI-induced job insecurity and promote fair competition.
Trump had his own policy on AI, having issued an EO all the way back in February 2019 that promoted investment in AI. He also laid down another EO the next year, encouraging government agencies to integrate AI into their operations.
Prohibiting Government Censorship:
The new administration released a broadly worded EO that prohibited federal agencies from actions that “unconstitutionally abridge” the free speech rights of American citizens. Trump’s Order alleged that the previous administration had censored Americans on online platforms and coerced social media companies into deplatforming content that the admin did not approve. It stated that the government took these actions under the guise of combating “misinformation,” “disinformation,” and “malinformation.” Trump also asked the US Attorney General to investigate any acts of censorship carried out under the last administration.
Trump’s decision to abjure from the alleged government censorship of the past is part of a general movement away from content moderation and organised fact-checking for social media platforms. Meta recently suspended third-party fact-checking and loosened its restrictions on political speech, including hot-button topics like immigration, gender and gender identity. Instead, it would move towards a community-notes model like X.
Trump has historically been at odds with social media companies, with Meta and Twitter (now X) both banning him from their platforms in 2019. Both companies reinstated his accounts later, as Twitter underwent a management change and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly grew closer to Trump.
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