A new law under consideration in France would shut down the publication of fake news ahead of elections in that country. The question is whether or not we could see the same thing happen here.
And the answer is not as easy as you might think. KTRH legal analyst Chris Tritico says there's a little thing called 'Freedom of Speech' that would be problematic.
“It operates as a restraint on speech. I don’t know how Congress could pass a law that would not infringe on the First Amendment,” Tritico said.
There's also the matter of having a free press. But we have taken actions as a country. The Russian News agency, RT, was forced to register as a foreign agent for what happened in the election two years ago.
“By doing that the government gets to have greater control over how and what RT does in the confines of the United States,” Tritico explained.
That happened just over six months ago. And other countries have taken action. Britain now has a 'fake news unit, and social networks in Germany can be fined millions for posting fake news.