San Francisco filed a lawsuit in state court against Trump Media & Technology Group, the company operating Truth Social, challenging the legality of its Truth API service. The service charges select customers $100,000 per month for early access to the ten most influential accounts on the platform, including accounts belonging to President Donald Trump and other White House officials.
According to the complaint, Truth API functions as a mechanism for profiting from nonpublic government information. The lawsuit cites specific examples of market movements following Trump’s posts on the platform. In one instance on August 21st, Trump announced that the federal government would lower ground beef prices through tariff exemptions, and cattle futures subsequently declined when markets opened hours later. Interim CEO Kevin McGurn had publicly stated that “markets already move on Truth Social posts” when announcing the service.
San Francisco city attorney David Chiu characterized the offering as a “pay-to-play scheme” that transforms public trust into private commercial interests. The lawsuit alleges that Truth API violates both California’s Unfair Competition Law and federal ethics and anti-corruption statutes governing insider trading. The city argues that by restricting financially significant government announcements to paying customers, the service disadvantages ordinary investors who lack access to early information.
Trump Media reported a net loss exceeding $238 million earlier in the year, suggesting the company views Truth API as a path toward profitability. The company has not disclosed its client list but indicated plans to market the service to artificial intelligence companies and major news organizations. San Francisco seeks a court order prohibiting the company from offering Truth API or similar services, along with penalties of $2,500 per violation of state unfair competition law. The lawsuit follows a separate challenge filed in August by The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation in federal court in New York.
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