President Donald Trump is being sued over a new Truth Social service that sells early access to his posts to the tune of up to $100,000 a month.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in a New York federal court by two media entities, The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation. The complaint claims the Truth API service offered by the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) is “profoundly corrupt,” as the President “stands to gain financially by giving “market-moving” government information to those who are willing and able to pay his personal company.”
The President has a history of disclosing market-sensitive news on the platform, from the announcement of tariffs to updates on the Iran war and the status of the Strait of Hormuz.
"Markets already move on Truth Social posts," said Kevin McGurn, interim chief executive Officer of TMTG, ahead of the service’s launch. "Truth API delivers a direct, licensed, real-time feed of the platform's most market-moving Truths while advancing our strategy to monetize proprietary assets through a high-margin, recurring revenue stream.”
The lawsuit is aiming to prohibit the White House from posting official government announcements exclusively on Truth Social so long as the paid service exists.
Trump and other White House officials are listed as defendants but TMTG is not. (Trump holds the largest stake in TMTG through a revocable trust which owns around 41% of the company.)
TIME has reached out to the White House and TMTG for comment.
The legal challenge lands in the midst of mounting backlash over the data feed, as Democratic lawmakers have already called for probes into the service, citing concerns over potential market impacts.
The complaint argues that the Truth Social early access service violates the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
“The First Amendment guarantees equal access to the President’s public announcements, and even content-neutral burdens on that access must be narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest,” the lawsuit reads.
“Similarly, the Fifth Amendment prohibits charging unreasonable sums that cannot be justified to offset the cost of the government benefit, and granting preferential access to crucial government information for arbitrary and irrational reasons, as is the case here.”
The lawsuit further argues that Trump has “published between 9,000 and 11,000 posts or reposts on Truth Social” and that “often” his announcements have “no immediate corresponding announcement from the White House,” suggesting that “Trump’s posts are the only way to get official government news.”
The plaintiffs, according to the complaint, are bringing forward the case to prohibit the President from personally profiting from selling privileged access to information generated in his official capacity.
Additionally, the complaint argues that the service allows “other organizations to get a competitive advantage over The Intercept and its reporters.”
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the exclusive posting of official information to Truth Social while the paid API exists as unconstitutional, to enjoin Trump and White House officials from continuing that exclusive-posting practice, and to award legal fees and any further relief the court may deem just and proper.
