Former President Donald Trump has initiated a lawsuit against social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and Google, and their CEOs over allegations of censorship, following his ban from the sites.
In a statement, Trump claimed this case would “prove this censorship is unlawful, it’s unconstitutional and it’s completely un-American.”
This case is expected to challenge Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which states that “no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”
Trump has cited free speech as the main motivation behind this case. The companies say that Trump promoted violence during the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection using their platforms.
As noted by some Twitter users, the Trump campaign has already begun asking for funds to financially support the lawsuit.
In defense of social media platforms, Paul Barret, deputy director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, said in a statement: “The First Amendment applies to government censorship or speech regulation. It does not stop private-sector corporations from regulating content on their platforms. In fact, Facebook and Twitter themselves have a First Amendment free speech right to determine what speech their platforms project and amplify – and that right includes excluding speakers who incite violence, as Trump did in connection with the January 6 Capitol insurrection.”
