Amber Melville-Brown comments on Trump being banned from Twitter after Capitol siege

Partner Amber Melville-Brown was quoted in the article, “Donald Trump’s tweets turn focus to social media responsibility after Capitol siege,” which was published by The Times. The article discusses recent allegations that 45th President Donald Trump incited violence at the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., which led to Twitter and Facebook banning him from their platforms. This decision made by the social media platform’s leaders will most likely lead to a review by regulators and legislators. This series of events has opened up the floor for a broader discussion about social media responsibility.

Amber was quoted saying social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are potentially “acting as publishers as surely as if they were lobbing newspapers on to the front gardens of their readers”. And as for President Donald Trump’s ban and other recent events make, it is “certainly arguable that by removing content social media sites are doing more than playing an entirely passive or neutral role in the publication. And by controlling what is available, they sport the hat of editor of the material — if not publisher — therefore removing the protection of section 1.”

Read full article here.