Mexico's Senate majority leader puts forward legislation to regulate Facebook, Twitter

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A prominent senator from Mexico’s ruling party has proposed regulating major social media networks, including Twitter and Facebook, in a draft bill seen by Reuters on Monday.

In a reform to the federal telecommunications law, the planned legislation would grant the IFT, Mexico’s telecoms regulator, oversight in establishing a framework for the suspension and elimination of accounts on social networks.

The draft bill named Facebook, which is used by more than 90% of internet users in Mexico, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat as networks that would be included in the IFT’s mandate to “establish the bases and general principles of the protection of freedom of expression in social networks.”

Ricardo Monreal, who leads President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party in the upper house, proposed the legislation and is seeking public comment.

Lopez Obrador has been critical of social media, including Facebook’s decision to deactivate former U.S. President Donald Trump’s account. In January, Lopez Obrador singled out a Twitter employee in Mexico, suggesting his former connections to an opposition party could compromise the company’s ability to be neutral.

A representative for Facebook declined to comment. A spokesperson for Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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