Trump Lawsuit tried the First Amendment

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July 13, 2021 1:24 pm ET

Former President Donald Trump. Photo: LM Otero / Associated Press

Donald Trump’s lawsuit against Big Tech has no merit (Why Im Suing Big Tech, op-ed, July 9). The First Amendment does not apply to commercial contracts between private persons such as user agreements entered into by Mr. Trump with social-media companies. Mr. Trump was banned from using the company’s platforms because he violated the terms of his agreements. His sound and anger at his removal were meaningless. All types of commercial contracts limit a parties right to speech. Mr. Trump knows this. He imposes censorship through non-disclosure provisions in the contracts he enters into with employees and others at all times.

Mitchell Seider

Scarsdale, NY

President Trump is right to criticize the left’s efforts to control how social media handles news, but he does the same thing. Both outside and out of the office, he worked to use government power to dictate how social media handles controversial news and views. Consider Mr. Trumps Justice Department against Google or his executive order against Section 230.

The government should not force social-media platforms to handle news in the way the president wishes, present or past. Mr. Trumps ’latest attempt is a step towards a state -run internet and the very kind of action that the First Amendment protects.

Mr. Trumps focused on Section 230, a law that makes it possible for websites to host an abundance of user-created entities, is a red herring. The law was not designed or intended to pressure media companies into hosting the speech preferred by the government of the time.

Carl Szabo

NetChoice

Washington

Hooray for Donald Trump, the fighter. I pray for the sake of freedom in America that he and others succeed. If Mr. Trumps presidential persona were measured and featured as his article in the Wall Street Journal, he would be re -elected in a landslide.

T. Scott DuBose

Pawleys Island, SC

As for why Mr. Trump sued Big Tech, I can only say: Who cares? His silence on social-media is golden.

Ron Eagle

Davidson, NC

Mr. Trump said social media became the center of free speech while town meeting halls, newspapers and television networks were in the previous generation. Maybe he has a point. Newspapers will remain responsible for the facts reported and published opinions. Republicans feel that most news media is biased. When Facebook selects a users editorial, it can also be accused of bias. But who should be the government of judgment or the consumer of news?

Hollister Sykes

Cranford, NJ

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Appeared July 14, 2021, print edition as ‘Trumps Lawsuit Tests the First Amendment.’

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