NEW YORK — Two media entities sued President Donald Trump on Wednesday, seeking to shut down a new service that sells paid access to his posts, including some that can move markets, on his social media platform.
The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation filed the complaint in Manhattan federal court challenging Truth API, a feed offered by Trump Media & Technology Group that charges up to $100,000 a month for early access to 10 high-profile Truth Social accounts, including Trump's own.
Truth API launched Aug. 1, four days after Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Adam Schiff of California called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether it undermined the integrity of financial markets while enriching Wall Street, wealthy insiders and Trump.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Other White House officials are also defendants but Trump Media is not.
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Trump long used his social media platform to disclose news, such as on tariffs and Middle East conflicts, that can move the prices of stocks and oil, as well as in other markets.
Wednesday's lawsuit seeks to block the White House from posting official government announcements exclusively on the platform while the paid feed exists.
President Donald Trump shows a printout of one of his social media posts June 4 as he delivers remarks to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington.
Plaintiffs call service 'profoundly corrupt'
In the complaint, the plaintiffs called the Truth API service "profoundly corrupt" because the president stands to gain financially when subscribers sign up.
They also said the service violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment because everyone deserves equal access to Trump's announcements, and there was no legitimate government interest in selling Trump's posts to private subscribers and letting him profit.
According to the complaint, many of Trump's 9,000 to 11,000 Truth Social posts and reposts during his second White House term were never followed by official White House statements.
A Trump Media spokesperson said "countless" platforms and news outlets, including many offering subscription feeds, already disseminate information from Trump, a Republican.
"Now, left-wing activists are trying to wrongfully weaponize the courts to censor him" and harm shareholders, the spokesperson said.
On an earnings call Monday, Trump Media interim Chief Executive Kevin McGurn said Truth API enabled subscribers to get news "fractionally faster" than others.
A man looks at a screen that displays trading information about shares of Truth Social and Trump Media & Technology Group on March 26, 2024, outside the Nasdaq Market site in New York City.
Trump is largest shareholder
The president is Trump Media's largest shareholder, with a 41.3% stake worth about $950 million through his Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, Reuters data show.
His oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is a Trump Media director and oversees the trust.
Other accounts offered through Truth API include those of Vice President JD Vance, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., FBI Director Kash Patel and the White House itself, the complaint said.
The SEC's three current commissioners are Republican.
