Former President Donald Trump announced a class-action lawsuit against three of the country’s biggest tech companies, alleging they are censoring him and other conservatives. Trump announced the lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter, and Google’s YouTube video platform Wednesday in Florida, where he has been living since leaving the White House in January.
According to Trump, the lawsuit aims to hold the companies accountable for what he says is their censorship of conservative voices. Trump’s accounts on social media platforms were suspended after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
Trump is seeking a court order to end alleged censorship. He’s also in search of punitive damages of “no less than $1,000” for each member of the class action.
“We’re demanding an end to the shadow banning, a stop to the silencing, and a stop to the blacklisting, banishing, and canceling that you know so well,” Trump said at a press conference.
Trump’s actions are the latest in a series of efforts to reshape the way social media platforms treat elected officials and other users. His new platform, “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump,” was recently shut down after less than a month.