In January, former U.S. President Donald Trump was surprisingly suspended, banned, or silenced on various social media platforms following his irresponsible online behavior during the fatal insurrection at the Capitol, and halfway through 2021, he apparently still has a sour taste in his mouth regarding the incident. In response to his widespread de-platforming, Trump is now seeking legal action against some of the biggest names in Tech.
During a press conference in New Jersey on Wednesday morning, Donald Trump revealed that he would be filing a class-action lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter, and Google in an effort to combat censorship and the involvement of private-owned social media platforms in the United States government.
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“Today, in conjunction with the America First Policy Institute,” Trump announced early today, “I’m filing as the lead class representative, a major class-action lawsuit against the big tech giants including Facebook, Google, and Twitter as well as their CEOs — Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, and Jack Dorsey, three real nice guys.”
According to Complex, the America First Policy Institute is a nonprofit that was launched by former Trump administration officials earlier this year, and this class-action lawsuit will serve as one of the nonprofit’s first major moves. At the time of publishing, Trump’s Twitter ban remains indefinite, and his Facebook ban is set to continue until 2023.
“We’re asking the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida to order an immediate halt to social media companies’ illegal, shameful censorship of the American people,” Trump also said in his speech.”We’re demanding an end to the shadow banning, a stop to the silencing, and a stop to the blacklisting, banishing, and canceling that you know so well.”
Check out his speech about the class-action lawsuit below, and stay tuned for updates regarding Donald Trump’s battle against the social media giants.