Former US President, Donald Trump, made an announcement on Wednesday that he had filed a lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter, Google and their CEO’s, claiming they unfairly infringed upon his First Amendment right to free speech as protected by the US Constitution.
“Today, in conjunction with the America First Policy Institute, 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,” he said.
He claimed that the companies have become “enforcers of illegal unconstitutional censorship” and said that, “We will achieve a historic victory for American freedom and at the same time, freedom of speech.”
Trump’s accounts were banned after his supporters stormed the Capitol building and it was feared that he would use his social media accounts to incite further violence.
The lawsuit Trump filed seeks to overturn Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which provides protection for Internet and social media sites regarding the content posted by users.
The lawsuit is based on the fallacy that private companies are required to adhere to the First Amendment requirements – however they are not.
The filing asks the court to award damages, declare Section 230 unconstitutional and to restore the accounts of Trump and other plaintiffs.
None of the named tech companies have responded to the lawsuit yet.
Sources: BBC, MSN
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