On Monday, President Donald Trump enacted an executive order that prohibits “federal censorship” of online expression. This move received applause from supporters who allege that the Biden administration unlawfully suppressed conservative opinions, while critics expressed concerns that unrestrained misinformation on social media could pose risks to the public health and safety in America.

According to the executive order, “Over the last four years, the previous administration infringed upon free speech by censoring American voices on online platforms. Often, this was done by applying heavy pressure on third parties, such as social media companies, to manage, deplatform, or suppress speech that was not in alignment with government preferences.”

The directive forbids federal officials from actions that could “unconstitutionally limit the free speech of any American citizen.” It also prevents the use of taxpayer funds for actions that restrict free speech and directs the Justice Department and other agencies to investigate the Biden administration’s actions and recommend “remedial measures.”

Critics Warn Censorship Order Might Amplify Misinformation

This executive order fulfills a promise made to conservatives who have claimed that biased tech companies work in tandem with Democrats to silence their perspectives for years.

Some experts raised alarms that restricting interactions and collaborations between federal authorities and tech giants could endanger public safety during emergencies such as natural disasters and health crises. Recently, misinformation spread wildly on social media during the Los Angeles firestorm this month.

Watchdogs focused on disinformation argue that Trump’s order will likely empower foreign and malicious actors to inundate social media with falsehoods, fostering division and anger among Americans.

“What Trump’s executive order on ‘Ending Federal Censorship’ effectively does is suppress critical discussions about harmful actors who exploit disinformation as a means to destabilize our society and profit from falsehoods,” stated Nina Jankowicz, former Biden administration official and current CEO of the American Sunlight Group, an organization that advocates against online misinformation.

Conservatives Argue That Big Tech Collaborated with Democrats

Numerous lawsuits have accused the Biden administration of applying pressure on social media platforms to eliminate lawful expression regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 election.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently substantiated these claims, asserting that high-ranking administration officials pushed his team to improperly restrict or remove pandemic-related content.

The Biden administration contends that its efforts aimed to curb false narratives to safeguard the public interest. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Biden in a lawsuit initiated by Republican attorneys general from Louisiana and Missouri, along with a small number of social media users, who accused officials of overstepping their bounds.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the majority, stated that the decisions made by social media platforms to remove content could not be directly linked to government intervention.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling, labeling it a free pass for “the most egregious government coercion scheme in history.”

Facebook, X, and Other Social Media Platforms Relax Content Moderation

The order is unlikely to persuade conservatives that Big Tech is not censoring their viewpoints. This sentiment peaked in 2021 when major platforms banned Trump in response to the January 6 Capitol riots, prompting Florida and Texas to enact laws aimed at curbing alleged social media censorship.

Claims of political bias are voiced across the ideological spectrum, but proving that social media companies target any specific group is challenging given the limited transparency provided by these platforms regarding their content policies.

Social media organizations maintain that they don’t target conservatives, but rather harmful speech that violates their guidelines.

Nonetheless, many of those policies are now becoming significantly more lenient.

Major platforms like Meta are adopting a more relaxed stance on content moderation during Trump’s second term, scaling back efforts to fact-check information shared on their sites and signaling support for the current administration.

As Trump was inaugurated for his second term in the Capitol Rotunda, Zuckerberg, X owner Elon Musk, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos—whose combined wealth is nearly a trillion dollars—were present in front of Trump’s cabinet selections and his family.