Donald Trump sues Facebook, YouTube and Twitter
The 45th President of the United States is rising to the front after being banned from social platforms
Following the capture of the Capitol, Donald Trump was banned from several social platforms. If we thought the case closed, the 45th President of the United States ultimately does not intend to stop there. During a press conference held on July 7, 2021 at a golf club in New Jersey, the man announced that he was filing a complaint against Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, CNBC reporters report.
Why was Trump banned from social media?
January 6, 2021 is a date forever etched in the history of the United States. While Donald Trump organized a rally in Washington to “demand transparency and protect the integrity of the elections,” he at the same time encouraged his supporters to march to Capitol Hill to voice their anger. The situation quickly escalated, however: the Capitol, sacred emblem of American democracy, was violently invaded by hundreds of pro-Trump demonstrators. The case resulted in five deaths, including that of a police officer.
Social networks reacted quickly by banning the accounts of the former President of the United States from their platform. Twitter was the first to make this final decision. Facebook also suspended the politician's account, but initially indefinitely. It was only last month that Mark Zuckerberg's social network announced to ban Donald Trump from his platform for two years. Same sanction on the side of YouTube, which planned to restore the account of the politician when the risk of violence would have decreased.
For Donald Trump, these decisions were a huge blow. At war with traditional media, the former US president used to speak mostly on his own social networks. His accounts being banned or suspended, he now finds himself deprived of his most powerful weapon of communication.
The war is open against the social giants
But Donald Trump does not intend to admit defeat. Building on collective action by the America First Policy Institute, a non-profit organization created by his campaign teams in 2017, the politician announced he is filing a complaint against YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. , as well as against their respective CEOs (Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey).
Donald Trump accuses them of violating his right to the First Amendment, the one on freedom of expression. He therefore claims the right to be able to return to social platforms, and also wants the court to declare unconstitutional section 230 of the law on decency of communications, a piece of legislation that prevents technology companies from being held accountable. of what users post on their platforms.
Remember that during his mandate, Trump had already demanded that this section be revoked, and had signed several decrees to this effect. But ultimately, the latter themselves were dismissed by Joe Biden last May.
During his speech, Donald Trump was extremely offensive: "We call on the Federal Court for the Southern District of Florida to order an immediate end to illegal and shameful censorship by social media groups targeting Americans . We demand (...) the end of the forced silence ". He also, as usual, tickled the heartstrings of his supporters: “If they can do it to me, they can do it to anyone. they do". Finally, he said he was "engaged in a fight that we are going to win", while making it known that he was not ready to make any concessions.
For their part, representatives of Twitter, Facebook and Google have not yet commented.
