Former President Donald Trump announced class-action lawsuits on Wednesday against Facebook, Twitter, and Google, as well as their CEOs, while House Republicans unveil plan to break up big tech to stop censorship.
Trump files lawsuit against big tech giants over “illegal and shameful censorship of the American people.”
On Wednesday morning, from Bedminster, New Jersey, former president Donald Trump announced his intention to sue the giants of big tech over censorship. His legal effort will be supported by the America First Policy Institute, a nonprofit formed earlier this year by alumni of the Trump administration, the New York Post reported.
“Today, in conjunction with the American First Policy Institute, I’m filing as the lead class representative, a major class action lawsuit against the big tech giants including Facebook, Google and Twitter as well as their CEOs,” Trump announced. He named the CEOs with sarcasm: “Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Jack Dorsey. Three real nice guys.”
“We’re asking the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida to order an immediate halt to stop social media companies’ illegal and shameful censorship of the American people,” Trump continued. “That’s exactly what they’re doing.”
We’re demanding an end to the shadow banning, a stop to the silencing, a stop to the blacklisting, banishing and canceling that you know so well,” Trump added.
House Republicans unveil legislative proposal to break up Big Tech, stop censorship
Coinciding with announcement by former President Donald Trump to sue big tech over censorship, House Republicans simultaneously unveiled a legislative plan to make it easier to break up tech companies in court and challenge unfair censorship, the Washington Examiner reported.
Republicans from the House Judiciary Committee, led by ranking member Jim Jordan (R-OH), voiced the aim to hold Big Tech legally accountable for censoring Americans’ right to free speech, and force tech companies to increase transparency around their content moderation decisions.
Big Tech has targeted conservatives for far too long. House Judiciary Republicans have had enough,” Jordan told the Washington Examiner. “We believe that this agenda will serve as the Republican platform to take on Big Tech going forward and unite our party to reject Big Tech’s ‘cancel culture’ practices.”
The proposals by House Judiciary Republicans will be introduced as legislation in the coming weeks following a consult with House Minority Leader Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and other top Republicans.
One of the chief aims of the proposed Republican legislation is to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, a provision that gives online platforms legal immunity for third-party content.
According to the text of the proposal obtained by the Washington Examiner, the legislation seeks to ensure content moderation decisions “are done in good faith, based on objectively reasonable criteria.”
