Lawsuit filed against Trump over sale of fast access to Truth Social posts

In the U.S., The Intercept Media and the Freedom of the Press Foundation have taken legal action against the charging of fees reaching up to $100,000 per month for faster access to certain posts on Truth Social.

The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York alleges that the practice is "corrupt and unconstitutional" regarding U.S. President Donald Trump and certain high-level White House officials.

The petition states that Trump has been making official government announcements regarding military operations, appointments, and foreign policy via Truth Social, which is owned by the Trump Media & Technology Group, in which he is a major shareholder. The plaintiffs argued that making "early and faster access" to messages that could affect markets a paid service undermines the right to equal access to public information.

The application also noted that the platform announced it would block external automated data scraping tools. The petition stated, "The President is in a position to profit financially by providing 'market-moving' government information to those willing and able to pay his company."

The plaintiffs claimed that the system in question slows down news production processes and harms journalistic activities. Furthermore, they requested that the practice of making official government announcements exclusively through a platform that requires paid access be stopped.

Trump Media & Technology Group announced its new data feed service called "Truth API" for financial services companies last month. The company stated that the service, which is intended to provide licensed and real-time access to posts from influential accounts on Truth Social, was expected to be available to corporate clients as of August 1.