Washington DC [USA], July 29 (Sputnik/ANI): The Trump administration has asked US federal regulators to determine whether current internet laws protect social media companies from being sued for altering or otherwise censoring free speech, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday.

"On Monday, the Department of Commerce, as directed by President Donald J Trump's executive order on preventing online censorship, filed a petition to clarify the scope of Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. The petition requests the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to clarify that Section 230 does not permit social media companies that alter or editorialise users' speech to escape civil liability," the statement said.

Also Read | Rajasthan Assembly Speaker CP Joshi Meets Governor Kalraj Mishra: Live News Breaking And Coronavirus Updates on July 29, 2020.

The move comes after President Trump repeatedly accused social media and internet firms of unfairly censoring conservative views. He issued his executive order on May 28, after Twitter began placing warning labels on some of his tweets. (Sputnik/ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)