Former President Donald Trump published an article Thursday explaining and doubling down on his decision to sue Big Tech companies after he was banned from various platforms following the Capitol Riot.
Trump published the piece in The Wall Street Journal a day after he announced his intention to sue Facebook, Twitter and Google, arguing that the big tech giants have wrongfully censored him. Trump also alleged more sophisticated efforts from the companies to stifle and silence conservatives and Republicans in general.
“No longer are Big Tech giants simply removing specific threats of violence. They are manipulating and controlling the political debate itself. Consider content that was censored in the past year. Big Tech companies banned users from their platforms for publishing evidence that showed the coronavirus emerged from a Chinese lab, which even the corporate media now admits may be true,” Trump wrote. (RELATED: Media Downplayed Or Ignored These 8 Lab Leak Theory Facts For Over A Year)
Former President Donald Trump writes for @WSJopinion: If Facebook, Twitter and YouTube can censor me, “they can do it to you—and believe me, they are.” https://t.co/Uo4QSHxpMr
— WSJ Politics (@WSJPolitics) July 8, 2021
“In the weeks before a presidential election, the platforms banned the New York Post—America’s oldest newspaper—for publishing a story critical of Joe Biden’s family, a story the Biden campaign did not even dispute,” the former president continued, referring to the suppression of negative Hunter Biden stories just days before the 2020 election.
“Perhaps most egregious, in the weeks after the election, Big Tech blocked the social-media accounts of the sitting president. If they can do it to me, they can do it to you—and believe me, they are,” Trump stated.
Conservatives have long been complaining about censorship of their opinions on social media, including on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, and alleging their content was being unjustly removed and deleted. Others have, however, disputed that notion calling it “a form of disinformation.”
Trump also criticized Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that provides companies protection from third-party content on their platforms. As president, Trump often demanded Section 230 to be repealed and he even vetoed a major defense bill in December as part of an effort to push Congress to change it. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: ‘No More Free Passes’: Sen. Rubio To Introduce Legislation That Would Halt Big Tech’s Censorship Of Americans)
“Unlike publishers, companies such as Facebook and Twitter can’t be held legally liable for the content posted to their sites. Without this immunity, social media companies could not exist,” he wrote. “The Supreme Court has held that Congress can’t use private actors to achieve what the Constitution prohibits it from doing itself. In effect, Big Tech has been illegally deputized as the censorship arm of the U.S. government.”
“Through these lawsuits, I intend to restore free speech for all Americans—Democrats, Republicans and independents. I will never stop fighting to defend the constitutional rights and sacred liberties of the American people,” Trump concluded his opinion.