SF Sues Trump Media Over Early Access to Posts

San Francisco has initiated legal action against Trump Media & Technology Group, the entity behind Truth Social, accusing the company of operating a corrupt business scheme by selling premature access to President Donald Trump’s posts. The lawsuit, filed in California state court, argues that the Truth API feed violates both the California Unfair Competition Law and federal statutes prohibiting insider trading. The city contends that this service allows select subscribers to profit from nonpublic information before it becomes available to the general public.

While White House spokesperson Davis Ingle recently described Truth Social as the “most powerful and popular social media platform in the world,” such claims contradict widely accepted metrics showing declining traffic over the past year. Nevertheless, the platform holds significant sway because Trump frequently makes high-stakes announcements in his presidential capacity there. These posts have a demonstrable impact on global markets. To monetize this influence, Trump Media introduced the Truth API, charging customers $100,000 per month for early visibility into the ten most influential accounts, including Trump and other White House officials. Interim CEO Kevin McGurn admitted the financial implications during the launch, stating that “markets already move on Truth Social posts.”

The complaint highlights specific instances where market movements followed Trump’s statements shortly after the API’s launch. For example, on August 21st, Trump announced plans to lower ground beef prices by exempting certain imports from tariffs. Within hours of the market opening, cattle futures dropped significantly, according to the suit. The lawsuit emphasizes that in modern financial systems, having a head start translates to massive gains. San Francisco city attorney David Chiu stated at a press conference that “Trump Media has unlawfully created, priced, marketed, and operated a commercial mechanism that knowingly and willfully facilitates Trump’s use of nonpublic information for private profit.” He further added that “In today’s markets, early access means millions of dollars. This business scheme has turned public trust into private property.”

Financial data suggests the API is an attempt to stabilize the struggling company, which reported a net loss exceeding $238 million earlier this year. Truth Social operates under a contract granting it a six-hour exclusivity window for Trump’s content, preventing him from posting the same material elsewhere during that period. Even prior to the API, the profile was considered highly valuable to investors. The lawsuit notes that some hedge fund executives felt pressured to subscribe despite concerns about the legality of the arrangement. Beyond accusations of insider trading, the suit argues that paywalling such information creates an uneven playing field for everyday investors.

Trump Media has not revealed its client list but indicated intentions to target AI firms and major news organizations. The city is seeking a judicial order to halt the offering of Truth API or similar services, along with fines of $2,500 per violation of state unfair competition laws. This litigation follows a separate lawsuit filed in August by The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation in New York federal court, which characterized the product as “extraordinary, corrupt, and unconstitutional.”