WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he is filing suits against three of the country’s biggest tech companies: Facebook, Twitter and Google, as well as their CEOs.
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Trump said he was serving as lead plaintiff in the class-action suits, claiming he has been wrongfully censored by the companies.
“We’re demanding an end to the shadow-banning, a stop to the silencing and a stop to the blacklisting, banishing and canceling that you know so well,” Trump said at a news conference at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf course.
The suits were filed in U.S. District Court for Florida’s southern district.
Trump was suspended from Twitter and Facebook after his followers stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6. The companies cited concerns that he would incite further violence. Currently, he can no longer post on either platform.
Under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, internet companies are generally exempt from liability for the material that users post. The law, which provides a legal “safe harbor” for internet companies, also allows social media platforms to moderate their services by removing posts that, for instance, are obscene or violate the services’ own standards, so long as they are acting in “good faith.”
But Trump and other politicians have long argued that Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms have abused that protection and should lose their immunity — or at least have to earn it by satisfying requirements set by the government.
Facebook, Google and Twitter all declined comment Wednesday.
If Trump wins, I will sue VIN too for censoring posts her.
This lawsuit is not about Trump. Anyone following the news has read about tens if not hundreds of people who have been banned from Twitter and Facebook for innocent comments. Just today a professor in Australia was suspended from Twitter for making fun of the Chinese president. Trump is correct Hamas and other Evil regimes and people can write what they want with impunity.
As an initial matter, they filed the suit in Florida but the User Agreement requires all suits to be in California. I wonder if Trump will claim that once he was kicked off, the User Agreement no longer applies. It’s not a bad argument.
I’m sure they are quaking in their boots.
Stormed the Capitol? Who are you kidding?!? Watch the videos. 99.999% of the people were walking just simply normally.
Though GOP is against activist judges, why do they wan the court to abolish a federal law (section 203). Isn’t that judicial activism?
This is a frivolous lawsuit, and will only use Trump to fundraise some $ out of this. He is already working hard for this gig.
By reading this lawsuit, it doesn’t seem that there was even 10K spend on it, poorly written, no clear legal argument, asking the court to take away the 1st amendment right of a company, without any legal analysis.
All he wants is, attention and money.
although I agree its terrible that theese companys are monoplys and can control who can talk I don’t think there is much that trump can do legally as they are allowed to say who is allowed to use their service
Under our free enterprise system the private entities can disallow whoever they want to. Trump loves frivolous law suits.
Trump has lost 98% of all his lawsuits. He may be indicted this week for tax fraud in NY.