Donald J. Trump said Wednesday he’s filing a lawsuit against Twitter, Facebook, and Google.
During a press conference Wednesday morning, Trump said the suit was being filed in conjunction with the America First Policy Institute, a nonprofit that was launched by former Trump administration officials earlier this year. Trump also said the suit names the respective CEOs of the three tech companies: Jack Dorsey (Twitter), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), and Sundar Pichai (Google).
The class-action lawsuit sees Trump, who’s asking the court for what he described as an “immediate halt” to “censorship,” serving as the lead plaintiff. Trump is also pushing for punitive damages.
Trump was widely deplatformed in the wake of the fatal Capitol riot in January. His suspension from Twitter, which had long been the former Apprentice host’s go-to, is permanent.
“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them—specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter—we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” a Twitter spokesperson said in January.
Meanwhile, Facebook said last month that Trump will remain banned from the site (and Instagram) until at least 2023, at which point a panel of experts will be enlisted to determine if a risk to public safety remains in effect.
Since January, Trump’s fraudulent claims about the 2020 presidential election—which saw former VP Joe Biden emerging as the victor—have continued. The fallout has extended to those close to him, including to Rudy Giuliani, the former NYC mayor who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney.
