Trump files suit against Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has filed a suit against three of the country's biggest tech companies, claiming that he and other conservatives have been wrongfully censored.

Trump announced the action against Facebook, Twitter and Google's YouTube, along with the companies' CEOs, at a press conference in New Jersey on Wednesday.

He was joined by other plaintiffs in the suits, which were filed in federal court in Miami.

“We're demanding an end to the shadow-banning, a stop to the silencing and a stop to the blacklisting, banishing and cancelling that you know so well,” he said.

Under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, social media platforms are allowed 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.”

The law also generally exempts Internet companies from liability for the material that users post.

But Trump and some 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.

Trump was suspended from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube after his followers stormed the Capitol building on January 6.

The companies cited concerns that he would incite further violence.

Nonetheless, Trump has continued to spread lies about the 2020 election, baselessly claiming that he won, even though state and local election officials, his own attorney general and numerous judges, including some he appointed, have said there is no evidence of the mass voter fraud he alleges.

Facebook, Google and Twitter all declined to comment Wednesday.

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