OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A federal judge has weighed in with a decision on former President Donald trump’s lawsuit over his ban from Twitter.
A San Francisco federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit which sought compensation from the Internet giant for banning himself and others, Fox News reported.
U.S. District Court Judge James Donato granted Twitter’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit on Friday.
Danto is allowing lawyers for Trump to file an amended complaint that is “consistent with this order” by May 27, and added that it cannot contain any new claims or defendants without prior permission from the court.
The lawsuit alleged that Twitter violated the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, claimed that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is unconstitutional, and also alleged that Twitter used “deceptive and misleading practices” that are in violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Donato wrote in his order that the First Amendment doesn’t apply to private companies, adding that Trump is “not starting from a position of strength.”
“The amended complaint merely offers a grab-bag of allegations to the effect that some Democratic members of Congress wanted Mr. Trump, and ‘the views he espoused,’ to be banned from Twitter because such ‘content and views’ were “contrary to those legislators’ preferred points of view,” the judge said.
Since his ban from Facebook and Twitter the former president has started his own social media platform, Truth Social.
Days after the bid of Elon Musk to purchase Twitter was announced to be successful former President Trump also made some Twitter news.
The former president returned to social media with his first post on his own Truth Social, but it appears more people learned about it on Twitter where it was trending.
“I’M BACK! #COVFEFE,” he said on Truth Social which he founded and is owned by Trump Media & Technology Group.
HE’S BACK! #COVFEFE pic.twitter.com/ZMfljOfiON
— Philip Tirino (@PhilipTirino) April 28, 2022
The message included a photo of him in front of his Mar-a-lago resort in Florida.
The response on Twitter was quick with #COVFEFE and Truth Social both trending.
Guess who’s back!
Let’s ROLL!!! #COVFEFE 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸https://t.co/IUXzU25EHj
— Tricia Flanagan (R-NJ) (@NewDayForNJ) April 28, 2022
https://twitter.com/CBKNEWSOFFICIAL/status/1519850296163414016
Even though it’s not on Twitter, he basically the greatest. #COVFEFE pic.twitter.com/6WOCovDRj1
— Kristin (@Sodangfancy100) April 29, 2022
https://twitter.com/thejtlewis/status/1519793916140261376
I just love this dude 😍 #Covfefe 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZQSyrVlgFz
— 🇺🇸Didi🇺🇸 TruthSocial, same @ (@MarinovDidi) April 29, 2022
Let's get #Covfefe trending worldwide to celebrate Trump's return to social media
— Ultra MAGA Mule George (@BehizyTweets) April 28, 2022
Trumps #COVFEFE “truth” caused fakenews and leftist to go nuts
— Josh Barnett for Congress (AZ-01) (@BarnettforAZ) April 29, 2022
The former president said during an interview this week that he does not plan on heading back to Twitter even after the purchase by Elon Musk is finalized.
He was interviewed on Fox News when he made the stunning announcement that he does not plan to return to Twitter, but rather continue to focus on his own TRUTH Social.
“I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on TRUTH,” he said. “I hope Elon buys Twitter because he’ll make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on TRUTH.”
“We’re taking in millions of people, and what we’re finding is that the response on TRUTH is much better than being on Twitter,” the former president said. “Twitter has bots and fake accounts, and we are doing everything we can.”
“The bottom line is, no, I am not going back to Twitter,” he said.
He said he did not see it as competition for TRUTH, but that it would be good for social media to have Musk takeover Twitter.
“I think it is good. We want liberty and justice and fairness in our country, and the more we can have open, the better,” the former president said. “But no, I don’t view that as a competition for what I am doing.”
“This is a platform for my voice. TRUTH is a platform for my voice and for my supporters,” he said. “But I want everybody to come over to TRUTH—conservatives, liberals, whatever.”
He argued that Twitter “became very boring because conservatives were thrown off or got off the platform when I left.”
“It became boring because there was no interaction,” he said. “The interaction on TRUTH has been amazing.”
The former president said that his TRUTH Social wants “everybody.”
“TRUTH Social will be a voice for me,” he said. “And that’s something nobody else can get.”
