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Ex-President Trump: "If you can do this to me, you can do it to anyone"
Photo: EDUARDO MUNOZ / REUTERS
For years, Donald Trump contacted his followers via Twitter and Facebook, but after the storm on the US Capitol in January, the platforms effectively withdrew the permission to broadcast from the former US president: his accounts were blocked.
Now Trump wants to sue on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
He is calling for his accounts to be restored quickly, the 75-year-old said on Wednesday.
Trump should remain blocked on Facebook at least until the beginning of 2023.
Twitter currently sees no way back for the former president.
In the three lawsuits filed separately in Florida, Trump accuses Facebook, Twitter and YouTube owner Google, as well as company bosses Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey and Sundar Pichai, of an unconstitutional violation of freedom of speech.
"If they can do that to me, they can do it to anyone," said Trump, speaking of a "corrupt censorship regime."
He is aiming for a class action in which everyone should be able to participate, whose accounts on the online platforms were "censored" after June 1, 2018.
Trump calls online platforms the "censorship department" of the US government
Trump claimed that the online platforms had become a "censorship department" of the current US administration - among other things because they took action against statements about the coronavirus that were doubted by scientists. For example, among the potential class action plaintiffs is a teacher who spoke out online against children wearing masks. Class action status usually has to be recognized by a judge in the United States.
"We will achieve a historic victory for freedom and at the same time for freedom of speech," said Trump, according to the Reuters news agency, at a press conference in front of his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
He was speaking in front of a building with white pillars that was somewhat reminiscent of the backdrop at the White House.
He read most of his remarks on the teleprompter and pronounced the Google boss's name as "Puchai".
Facebook and Twitter blocked Trump in January shortly before the end of his term in office.
The trigger was the storming of the US Capitol by supporters of Trump - and that he expressed sympathy for the attackers.
He also continues to claim, without any evidence, that his November presidential election victory was stolen by fraud.
With that he heated up the mood in the country.
Twitter, where more than 80 million users followed Trump, was until then the most important communication platform for him. Facebook had initially blocked Trump's account until further notice. The independent supervisory body of the online network later complained that the Facebook rules did not provide for an indefinite ban. That is why Trump is now suspended on Facebook for two years, with the deadline running since the beginning of January this year. Then Facebook wants to re-weigh whether the ex-president still poses a threat.
Google's video platform YouTube also does not want Trump to allow it again until it no longer sees any risk to public safety, but did not name a period for this.
For Trump, the presence on large online platforms is also important with a view to a possible candidacy in the presidential election in 2024, which is repeatedly discussed.
Law professor doesn't see great opportunities
Trump claimed that he was not looking for a comparison with the tech companies and did not know whether he would use their platforms again if he won.
He is specifically targeting the legal regulation known as "Section 230", which protects online platforms from liability for content published by users.
At the same time, it gives them the freedom to take action against users and content.
According to Reuters, law professor Paul Gowder does not see any great chances of Trump's success.
"It's hard to make any sense of this complaint," Gowder said.
fek / dpa / Reuters