Trump reportedly may form a commission to examine allegations of online bias

(Image credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

President Trump is toying with the idea of establishing a White House commission that would look into allegations of online bias and censorship by social media companies, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Trump has long accused tech giants like Facebook, Google, and Twitter of harboring anti-conservative biases, and, though it's unclear if anything will come to fruition, it appear he's now trying to take action. "Left-wing bias in the tech world is a concern that definitely needs to be addressed from our vantage point, and at least exposed [so] that Americans have clear eyes about what we're dealing with," a White House official told the Journal.

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If the plan builds momentum, it will likely face push back from the tech companies and free speech advocates. The American Civil Liberties Union's senior legislative counsel Kate Ruane said if the government does try to intervene, "what typically follows are debacles that undermine online privacy, safety, and speech." Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.