Trump Sued Over ‘SNS Early Access’... “Monetizing Public Information Is Unconstitutional”

The Intercept and Freedom of the Press Foundation File Suit in New York Federal Court

“Pursuing Private Gain from Presidential Information Is Unconstitutional”

U.S. President Donald Trump has been releasing policy decisions that can move the market—such as those related to tariffs, diplomacy, and war—one after another on his social media platform, Truth Social. Amid this, a paid service that allows users to view these announcements ahead of regular users has become the subject of a legal dispute. Critics argue that using the President’s public information as a source of profit for a private company is unconstitutional.

U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House

According to Bloomberg, AFP, and other outlets on August 12 (local time), U.S. media company The Intercept Media and the non-profit Freedom of the Press Foundation filed a lawsuit against Truth Social’s operator, Trump Media & Technology Group, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on the same day.

The issue at hand is the newly launched paid service “Truth API,” introduced by Trump Media earlier this month. Subscribers who pay up to $100,000 per month (about 140 million won) can view President Trump’s Truth Social posts up to a thousandth of a second ahead of the general public.

The plaintiffs argued that President Trump could reap financial benefits by providing government information that may move markets to those who pay his private company before it is made available to everyone else.

In the complaint, they wrote, “By providing government information that moves markets to those willing and able to pay his private company, the President stands to achieve monetary gain.”

In particular, they pointed out that President Trump has been using Truth Social as his principal channel for policy announcements. With approximately 13 million followers on Truth Social, President Trump frequently discloses decisions relating to tariffs, trade, diplomatic policy, and other matters that could directly impact financial markets. Recently, significant announcements concerning the Iran war, which could massively affect international oil prices, were also largely made via Truth Social.

The plaintiffs claim that even obtaining policy announcements a few seconds—or milliseconds—before general release could incentivize users to pay high fees since such timing can be exploited for trading strategies in the financial markets.

The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation asked the court to declare that exclusive posting of government information on Truth Social violates the U.S. Constitution, arguing that equal access to the President’s public statements is guaranteed by constitutional amendments. They also demanded a ban on the Truth API service.

President Trump is the largest shareholder of Trump Media. The 41% company stake he owns, valued at roughly $1 billion, is currently placed in a trust managed by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.

This lawsuit is expected to reignite the debate over the blurred lines between public information and private business, given that President Trump is using his social media platform as a de facto policy announcement channel.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.