(Bloomberg) — Twitter Inc. asked a federal judge to throw out Donald Trump’s lawsuit over his permanent ban from the platform for stoking the U.S. Capitol riot, arguing the company’s constitutional right to free speech is at stake — not the former president’s.
Twitter’s First Amendment rights “are at their apex” in the case because the editorial decisions Trump is challenging relate to matters of public concern, including interference with the democratic process and threats to the peaceful transfer of power, Twitter and its outgoing chief executive officer, Jack Dorsey, said in a San Francisco federal court filing.
Trump “agreed to abide by Twitter’s rules, and yet proceeded to repeatedly violate those rules” before, during and after the deadly assault, with tweets that “could encourage further violence,” the company said in its filing late Thursday.
Trump’s free-speech claim also ignores “that Twitter is a private actor that is not constrained by the federal constitution,” the company said. “The government (and courts) cannot force the private operator of an online platform, such as Twitter, to disseminate speech with which the operator disagrees.”
Trump is fighting bans or suspensions from Twitter, Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, accusing the tech giants of trying to silence conservative views and violating his free-speech rights. He’s also pressing ahead with plans to launch a rival social-media platform as part of a new media company with “non-woke” entertainment and news.
John P. Coale, who is leading Trump’s lawsuits against the companies, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Twitter’s filing outlined Trump’s actions leading up to the ban, including posting tweets that repeatedly violated Twitter’s Civic Integrity Policy after the election by tweeting false information about the vote. Twitter initially labeled the tweets “misleading” and left them up in the days leading up to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, but took a harder line and locked his account when he wouldn’t stop, it said.
Trump, who is weighing a 2024 run to return to the White House, continues to falsely claim that the election was stolen.
Blocking Twitter from making such decision “would upend bedrock principles of constitutional law,” the company said.
Oral arguments in the case are set for Feb. 23 before U.S. District Judge James Donato, an Obama appointee.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
