by Ethan Yang
The American Institute for Economic Research
On July 7th, 2021 former president Donald Trump filed class action lawsuits against Twitter, Facebook, and Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube. Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have all banned the former commander-in-chief from their platforms in response to the January 6th Capitol Hill riots, to which they hold he played a key role in inciting. They maintain a lifetime ban, a two-year ban, and an until further notice restriction respectively. Trump’s legal team alleges that they have engaged in partisan censorship against him and the other plaintiffs. The accusation is in line with the common narrative that Big Tech companies systematically suppress Conservative ideas and figures.
This lawsuit also follows in the footsteps of the ongoing controversy regarding Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and the protection from civil liability it provides to interactive computer services, allowing them to moderate content as they please. Trump’s class action alleges that Section 230 is unconstitutional and that these companies violated the First Amendment by colluding with the state. Although similar arguments have been made in the past to no success, it remains to be seen how this particular case will prevail.