A San Francisco judge removes former US president Donald Trump The lawsuit challenges his permanent ban from Twitter.
US District Judge James Donato said on Friday that Trump’s failure to display Twitter violated his First Amendment freedom of speech. Freedom of speech does not apply to private companies, and Trump has failed to indicate that Twitter is working as a state organization on behalf of Democrats, the judge wrote.
“The revised complaint merely lays out a series of allegations about the consequences that some Democrats in Congress want Mr Trump, and the “opposition he espouses,” to be prohibited on Twitter for “that content and opinion” as opposed to what Donato writes. “But the remarks of a small number of elected officials are far from a “rule of decisions for which the State is responsible. ” Legislators have complete freedom to express opinions without being considered the official voice of “ State. ”
Trump sued Google’s Twitter, Facebook and YouTube in July 2021, claiming that they illegally censored him.
The platforms suspended Trump after the January 6, 2021 uprising in which his followers violently stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s presidential victory. . The companies cited concerns that he would incite more violence.
The ruling comes as Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is in the process of acquiring Twitter for $44 billion. The agreement raised questions about whether Musk, a self-described free speech expert, would reinstate the former president.
Trump, who continues to repeat lies about his 2020 election defeat in speeches, has started his own social network, Truth Social. Last week, he said he wouldn’t rejoin Twitter if given the chance.
The lawsuit sought to reinstate Trump’s account, which had about 89 million followers, and the accounts of five other people that claimed they were also censored by Twitter. The group has been removed from the platform on behalf of others seeking unspecified damages and class action status.
Legal experts had predicted the lawsuit would fail but suggested Trump would milk it for political purposes. Trump’s political action committee immediately began raising money after the lawsuit was announced last year.
The lawsuit also seeks to claim that Section 230 of the Disciplinary Information Act of 1996 is unconstitutional.
The act says providers like Twitter can moderate the services by removing obscene posts that violate their standards and are not responsible for content posted by others.
Trump has made only a “vague and speculative allegation” that he believes he wouldn’t have been banned if Twitter hadn’t been granted an exemption by Section 230, Donato said.
Donato gave Trump another chance to amend his complaint. Trump’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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