Two media organizations filed a lawsuit on August 12 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against President Donald Trump's social media company, Truth Media & Technology Group (TMTG). The lawsuit seeks to block the company's Truth API service, which offers high-paying clients real-time access to posts from Trump and others, alleging that the subscription plan is unconstitutional.
The Truth API, launched on August 1, allows users to pay up to $100,000 per month for access to posts that may contain market-sensitive information. The lawsuit claims that this practice violates the First and Fifth Amendments by prioritizing access to government information for those who can afford it. TMTG has reportedly signed at least 10 customer agreements for the API service.
In response to the lawsuit, TMTG's interim CEO Kevin McGurn stated that selling licensed real-time public data through commercial APIs is a common business practice. A spokesperson for TMTG emphasized that Truth Social was created as a platform for free speech following Trump's ban from Twitter in 2021.