Trump Threatens Defense Veto           12/02 06:25

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump is threatening to veto a defense 
policy bill unless it ends protections for internet companies that shield them 
from being held liable for material posted by their users.

   On Twitter Tuesday night, Trump took aim at Section 230 of the 1996 
Communications Decency Act, which protects companies that can host trillions of 
messages from being sued into oblivion by anyone who feels wronged by something 
someone else has posted --- whether their complaint is legitimate or not.

   Trump called Section 230 "a serious threat to our National Security & 
Election Integrity," adding, "Therefore, if the very dangerous & unfair Section 
230 is not completely terminated as part of the National Defense Authorization 
Act (NDAA), I will be forced to unequivocally VETO the Bill."

   Trump has been waging war against social media companies for months, 
claiming they are biased against conservative voices.

   In October he signed an executive order directing executive branch agencies 
to ask independent rule-making agencies, including the Federal Communications 
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, to study whether they can place 
new regulations on the companies.

   Since losing the presidential election, Trump has flooded social media with 
unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. Twitter has tagged many such Trump 
tweets with the advisory, "This claim about election fraud is disputed."

   Tuesday's veto threat is another potential roadblock for the passage of the 
annual defense policy measure, which is already being held up in Congress by a 
spat over military bases named for Confederate officers. The measure, which has 
passed for 59 years in a row on a bipartisan basis, guides Pentagon policy and 
cements decisions about troop levels, new weapons systems and military 
readiness, military personnel policy and other military goals.