Donald Trump announced that he will sue Twitter, Facebook and Google , as well as their respective CEOs, Jack Dorsey, Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai. The former president of the United States accuses the technology companies of “illegal and unconstitutional censorship.”
Donald Trump's legal action was announced Wednesday at a press conference at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, according to NBC. The magnate was accompanied by leaders of the America First Policy Institute, a non-profit group that supports the former president's demands.
Trump said the lawsuit will be filed in federal court in Florida. It alleges that Twitter, Facebook and Google violated the rights of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. In this way, it will seek to prove the “illegality” of the blocking of your accounts.
“We are demanding the end of the ban, the end of the silencing, the end of the blacklists, the disappearance and the cancellation,” Trump told the press. Furthermore, he said they are asking the court to “impose punitive damages.”
Trump lost his virtual megaphone
Photo by Sean Ferigan on Unsplash This move by Trump is made known shortly after Facebook decided to maintain the ban on the former president until at least 2023. Twitter, for its part, decided to apply a permanent ban for “violation of its terms, terms and conditions.”
Unlike Twitter, which permanently deleted Trump's profile and does not allow his previous posts to be viewed, Facebook and YouTube did not delete his accounts . The tycoon cannot add new content, but the one already published remains accessible to his followers.
The actions of the technological giants followed the assault on the Capitol that occurred on January 6, 2021. Several Trump publications were interpreted as acts of incitement to violence , so social networks proceeded to suspend your accounts.
As for Trump's actions, his lawyers did not make clear what the legal framework is to sustain the lawsuits. The first amendment, mentioned by the former president, applies to government actions related to limiting freedom of expression, but not to private companies.
Section 230, for its part, protects internet companies by stating that they cannot be editorially responsible for the content posted by users and provides support when it comes to moderating the content.
