WASHINGTON: Former US president Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled a lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter and Google, escalating his years-long free speech battle with tech giants who he argues have wrongfully censored him.
“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, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Jack Dorsey — three real nice guys,” Trump announced at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
The nation’s top tech firms have become the “enforcers of illegal, unconstitutional censorship,” added the 75-year-old Republican, who was banned from posting on Facebook and Twitter after his repeated false claims of 2020 election fraud fueled the violent January 6 siege of the US Capitol by his supporters.
Trump is being joined in the suit by the America First Policy Institute. They have invited thousands of citizens who have been “de-platformed” from social media sites to sign on.
“We are standing up for American democracy by standing up for free speech rights of every American — Democrat, Republican, independent, whoever it may be,” Trump said. “This lawsuit is just the beginning.”
Legal experts say the case — which may or may not be deemed a class action, a designation granted by a court and not just declared by a litigant — is unlikely to gain traction.
But Trump’s team and the Repubican National Committee were quick to fundraise off of it.
Trump filed the complaints in US District Court in southern Florida, where he is seeking an immediate halt to censorship, blacklisting and what he called the “canceling” of people who share his political views.
He stressed he is not looking for any sort of a settlement. “We’re in a fight that we’re going to win,” he said.
The suit comes amid efforts by Congress to curb the powers of big tech. Last month the House of Representatives advanced sweeping reforms of antitrust laws aimed at the business practices of Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook.
Facebook banned Trump indefinitely on January 7 over his incendiary comments that preceded the Capitol insurrection.
Twitter quickly followed, permanently suspending Trump’s account due to the “risk of further incitement of violence.”
In June, following a review by Facebook’s independent oversight board, Facebook narrowed the ban to two years.
Trump said YouTube and its parent organization Google have deleted “countless videos” including many addressing the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The billionaire, his allies and many supporters say the ban on Trump and others amount to censorship and abuse of power.
“There is no better evidence that big tech is out of control than the fact that they banned the sitting president of the United States,” Trump said.
Trump, his political campaigns and the Trump Organization have been involved in more than 3,000 legal cases in the past 30 years. Legal experts give this one little chance of succeeding.
The US Constitution’s First Amendment “constrains only government actors, not private entities,” Eric Goldman, director of the High-Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University, told AFP, adding that dozens of other similar cases failed decisively.
In the complaint against Facebook, Trump argues that big tech’s cooperative work with federal authorities effectively shifts their status from private company to state actor.
“As such, Defendant is constrained by the First Amendment right to free speech in the censorship decisions it makes regarding its Users,” the complaint states.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association, of which Facebook, Google and Twitter are members, said digital services have the right to enforce their terms of service.
“Frivolous class action litigation will not change the fact that users — even US presidents — have to abide by the rules they agreed to,” CCIA President Matt Schruers said.
Trump has begun holding public events, including campaign-style rallies, as he seeks to remain the nation’s most influential Republican.
He has teased a potential 2024 presidential run but has made no announcement on his political future.
Trump announces anti-censorship lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter
https://arab.news/znzsh
Trump announces anti-censorship lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter
- Trump: The nation’s top tech firms have become the “enforcers of illegal, unconstitutional censorship”
- Trump is being joined in the suit by the America First Policy Institute
Tucker Carlson claims he was detained at Israeli airport
DUBAI: Earlier this week, Tucker Carlson flew to Israel to interview US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, according to media reports.
Carlson, who reportedly refused to leave Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport complex, conducted the interview at the airport, after which he said he and his staff were detained and their passports were seized.
“Men who identified themselves as airport security took our passports, hauled our executive producer into a side room and then demanded to know what we spoke to Ambassador Huckabee about,” Carlson said in a statement to The New York Post.
However, Carlson’s claims have been contradicted by Huckabee and Israeli authorities.
Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and Fox News host, said on social media platform X that “EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions,” including himself, despite holding a diplomatic passport and visa.
Thanks @EFischberger for a more accurate report. EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions. Even ME going in/out with Diplomatic Passport & Diplomatic Visa. https://t.co/UbblLiznMO
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) February 18, 2026
The US Embassy in Israel also described the interaction as routine passport control procedures.
The Israel Airports Authority said in a statement that Carlson and his staff “were not detained, delayed, or interrogated.”
They were asked “a few routine questions, in accordance with standard procedures applied to many travelers,” and this conversation took place in a separate room within the VIP lounge to protect their privacy, the statement added.
“No unusual incident occurred, and the Israel Airports Authority firmly rejects any other claims.”
Israeli Airports Authority:
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) February 18, 2026
Contrary to the reports, Tucker Carlson and his entourage were not detained, delayed, or interrogated.
Mr. Carlson and his party were politely asked a few routine questions, in accordance with standard procedures applied to many travelers.
The…
Carlson has faced criticism in recent years over his commentary on Israel, with critics accusing him of amplifying narratives that are hostile to Israel and, at times, antisemitic. He has also questioned Israel’s treatment of Christian communities in the region.
After Fox News canceled his show in April 2023, he launched his own program, “The Tucker Carlson Show” in 2024.
The show has featured controversial figures, including Darryl Cooper, who has made statements widely condemned as Holocaust denial, and white nationalist commentator Nick Fuentes.
In his interview with Fuentes, Carlson labeled Huckabee a “Christian Zionist.”
Carlson has also criticized Huckabee for not doing enough to protect Christian interests in the region. In one video, he said: “Why not go ahead and talk to Christians and find out their side of the story? Why aren’t American Christian leaders like Mike Huckabee or Ted Cruz, people who invoke the Christian Bible to justify what they’re doing, why haven’t they done this?”
Huckabee responded to the video on X, writing: “Instead of talking ABOUT me, why don’t you come talk TO me? You seem to be generating a lot of heat about the Middle East. Why be afraid of the light?”
Carlson accepted the invitation, and their teams coordinated the interview, leading to his brief visit to Israel.
