CRACKDOWN

Report: White House Drafts Order to Investigate Facebook, Google

The order instructs federal agencies to take measures to “address online platform bias.”

The Trump administration has drafted an executive order instructing federal antitrust regulators and law enforcement agencies to investigate the business practices of Google, Facebook, and other social media companies, Bloomberg News reports. A draft of the order reportedly seen by Bloomberg orders government agencies to recommend measures to “protect competition among online platforms and address online platform bias.” It also reportedly instructs antitrust authorities to “thoroughly investigate whether any online platform has acted in violation of the antitrust laws.” The order, which is reportedly still in preliminary stages and has yet to be approved by other government agencies, comes after President Trump repeatedly accused social media companies of censoring conservative figures.