FCC chairman will not move to set new U.S. social media rules sought by Trump

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai will not move forward to set any new rules sought by outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump to limit key social media liability protections, a spokesman for the agency confirmed.

Trump last year demanded the FCC set new rules to limit protections for social media firms under Section 230, a provision of the 1996 Communications Decency Act that shields social media companies from liability for content posted by their users and allows them to remove lawful but objectionable posts.

Pai had said on Oct. 15 he would move forward to set new rules but the FCC confirmed he told C-SPAN Thursday there was not enough time before President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Jan. 20 to proceed.