Trump says he’s suing Facebook, Google and Twitter: NPR

[ad_1]

Former President Donald Trump walks on stage during a rally on July 3, 2021, in Sarasota, Florida. Trump has announced that he is suing three of the country’s largest technology companies: Facebook, Twitter and Google. Jason Behnken / AP Hide Caption

Toggle Caption Jason Behnken / AP

Former President Donald Trump walks on stage during a rally on July 3, 2021, in Sarasota, Florida. Trump has announced that he is suing three of the country’s largest technology companies: Facebook, Twitter and Google.

Jason Behnken/AFP

Former President Donald Trump announced, on Wednesday, the filing of lawsuits against three of the largest technology companies in the country: Facebook, Twitter and Google, as well as their executives.

Trump said he was the lead plaintiff in the class action, claiming he was wrongly censored by companies.

“We are calling for an end to the shadow ban, to stop silencing, to stop blacklisting and banishing and canceling that you know all too well,” Trump said at a news conference at Bedminster, New Jersey.

The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the District of South Florida.

Trump was suspended from Twitter and Facebook after his followers stormed the Capitol on January 6. Companies have expressed concerns that it may incite more violence. Currently, it can no longer post to either platform.

Yet Trump continued to spread lies about the 2020 election, claiming he won, even though state and local election officials, his attorney general and several judges, including some of his appointees, said there was no evidence of a mass voter. fraud claims.

Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, Internet companies are generally exempt from liability for material posted by users. The law, which provides a legal “safe haven” for internet companies, also allows social media platforms to modify their services by removing posts that, for example, are obscene or violate standards for the services, as long as they act in “good faith”.

But Trump and other politicians have long argued that Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms abused these protections and should lose their immunity — or at least they should gain it by meeting requirements set by the government.

Facebook, Google and Twitter declined to comment on Wednesday.

[ad_2]