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Trump Accuses Big Tech of Bias Against Conservative Voices

Associated Press

   WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said Thursday that big tech
   companies must not be allowed to censor the voices of the American
   people on social media, even as he hailed conservative critics for
   using the platforms to get around the "fake news filter."

   Trump has weaponized social media to eviscerate opponents and promote
   himself. He convened Thursday's White House Social Media Summit of
   like-minded critics of Big Tech, excluding representatives from the
   very platforms he exploits.

   Earlier Thursday, Trump sent a stream of Twitter messages lashing out
   at social media companies and the press, familiar targets that resonate
   with his conservative base.

   The meeting represented an escalation of Trump's battle with companies
   like Facebook, Google and even his preferred communications outlet,
   Twitter. The president has claimed, without evidence, that the
   companies are "against me" and even suggested U.S. regulators should
   sue them on grounds of anti-conservative bias.

   In remarks to the participants, whom Trump called "online journalists
   and influencers," Trump said, "You're challenging the media gatekeepers
   and corporate censors to bring the truth to the American people."

   "You communicate directly with our citizens without going through the
   fake news filter," he said.

   Greater scrutiny

   Trump signaled tough actions ahead by his administration against big
   tech companies.

   The firms already are under closer scrutiny than ever by regulators and
   in Congress following a stream of scandals including Facebook's lapses
   opening the personal data of millions of users to Trump's 2016
   campaign, and a bipartisan push for new data privacy legislation has
   emerged in Congress. Regulators at the Justice Department and the
   Federal Trade Commission are pursuing antitrust investigations of
   Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon.

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