Former President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he is suing three of America’s largest digital firms including Facebook, Twitter, and Google, as well as their CEOs.
Trump stated that he was the primary plaintiff in the class-action lawsuits, claiming that the corporations had unfairly silenced him.
At a news conference at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf estate, Trump said, “We’re demanding an end to the shadow-banning, a halt to the silence, a stop to the blacklisting, banishing, and canceling that you know so well.”
The lawsuits were filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
After his supporters stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6, Trump was suspended from Twitter and Facebook. Concerns were raised by the corporations that he might instigate further violence. He is currently unable to post on any platform.
Despite this, Trump has continued to spread lies about the 2020 election, falsely claiming victory despite the fact that state and local election officials, his own attorney general, and a slew of judges, including some he appointed, have all stated that there is no evidence of the widespread voter fraud he claims.
Internet firms are typically immune from responsibility for the content that users upload under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. The legislation, which gives internet firms a legal “safe harbour,” also enables social media platforms to monitor their services by deleting messages that are obscene or violate the services’ own standards, as long as they operate in “good faith.”
However, Trump and other lawmakers have long maintained that Twitter, Facebook, and other social media companies have abused their immunity and should be stripped of it — or at the very least, have to earn it by meeting government criteria.
