The former US President has failed in his lawsuit in a California court.
(Photo: dpa)
Washington Former US President Donald Trump has suffered a defeat in the legal battle against the suspension of his Twitter account. A federal judge in the US state of California dismissed a corresponding lawsuit by Trump on Friday. However, the judge gave Trump and his lawyers the option of resubmitting them in a modified form. The plaintiffs would not argue from a strong position, it said in the verdict. Twitter is a private company and the First Amendment, which protects freedom of expression, applies to government interference – but not to alleged interference by private companies, it said.
Twitter, Facebook and YouTube blocked Trump’s accounts in January 2021, shortly before the end of his term. The trigger was the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 by Trump supporters – and that he expressed sympathy for the attackers. He also claimed – even now – without any evidence that his victory in the November presidential election was stolen by fraud. He heated up the mood in the country. Twitter, where he was followed by more than 80 million users, was his most important communication platform up to that point. The ex-president has been fighting against the blocking of his account for a long time.
One of the big questions is whether Trump could return to the network following Twitter’s possible takeover of tech billionaire Elon Musk. Trump recently said he didn’t want to go back to Twitter, even if he could. However, the presence on the platform could be important for a possible candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.
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