Tired Of Being Silenced, Donald Trump Sues Twitter, Facebook And YouTube

Donald Trump has become one of the icons of resistance in the US. (photo credit: Darren Halstead / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Former United States (US) President Donald Trump launched a series of class action lawsuits against Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. He claimed that the three companies violated his First Amendment rights.

The lawsuit also names Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

"We demand an end to shadow bans, an end to silencing and an end to the blacklisting, disbandment and cancellation as you know well," Trump said at a news conference.

The lawsuit was filed by Trump in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In addition to demands to restore his social media accounts, Trump is also seeking "compensation and redress." Facebook and Twitter declined to comment on the news, as did Google.

Melania Trump's husband accused Facebook, Twitter and Google of violating First Amendment rights. However, the content of the First Amendment itself relates to the government censoring free speech, not business.

Unfortunately, the three social media giants are also protected by Section 230 of the Communications Proper Act, which protects platforms from legal liability for the content they host and content moderation decisions.

Trump's lawsuit asks the judge to overturn Section 230 of the Communications Proper Act, a law that is billed as the backbone of the internet because it protects websites from liability for content posted by users.

Trump and his supporters have attacked Section 230 and say it has given large internet companies too much legal protection and allowed them to escape responsibility for their actions.

The Beginning of Trump Blocked by Social Media

After the January 6 attacks on the Capitol, the three social media platforms quickly revoked the privileges of posting Trump, who was then president. For years, it was thought Trump violated the platform's policies around misinformation and even threats of violence, but his role in the events of the day crossed the line.

Quoted from Reuters, where Trump made a speech reiterating his false claim that his defeat in the presidential election was the result of a very broad deception. This is a statement rejected by many courts, state election officials, and members themselves.

Because of the move, Trump's fate on Twitter has now been banned for life from using the social media. But on Facebook and YouTube, chances are the account can be recovered.

Meanwhile, Facebook is still considering the decision after an external policy-making body, the Facebook Supervisory Board, returned the matter to the company. Facebook now needs to determine the indefinite length of Trump's suspension, whether permanent or for a certain period of time.