Former US President Donald Trump has asked a court to mandate that Twitter restore his social media account, in a Florida court filing made late Friday (local time).
In his court document, Trump requested a preliminary injunction from the District Court of South Florida to restore his account, while his social media giant lawsuit continues.
"Plaintiff Donald J Trump respectfully moves for a preliminary injunction directing, inter alia, Defendant Twitter, Inc and all persons acting in concert with Defendant, to reinstate Plaintiff's access to Defendant's social media platform(s)," the filing said.
It argues that Twitter has "censored" Trump by banning him indefinitely from the platform, adding that the company "exercises a degree of power and control over political discourse in this country that is immeasurable, historically unprecedented, and profoundly dangerous to open democratic debate”.
On January 8th, Twitter banned Trump, stating that two of his tweets violated its policies and quoting "the risk of further incitement of violence". This unprecedented move followed the uprising on January 6th, which saw the Capitol stormed by hundreds of Trump’s supporters, causing five deaths and 140 wounded police officers.
In the Washington Post on Saturday, the Office of Trump did not respond immediately to a comment request. Twitter refused to comment on the situation.
Trump's account had 88 million followers and became the key communication tool during his presidency, known for firing off-filtered, and often Capslock at night tweets. Although Trump remains free to speak in the press or make public remarks, the interdiction has dramatically decreased its capacity to attract attention and the media coverage.
Trump sued Google and its chief executives for Twitter, Facebook, and Alphabet Inc, claiming that they were illegally silencing conservative views and violating his rights as First Amendment, suspending his accounts.
The lawyers and business groups predicted that the prosecutions would be unlikely to succeed, as the First amendment protects people from US government censorship, not privately-owned companies.
However, the ban on Twitter's Trump followed by numerous other social media giants such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and Twitch has also highlighted the power of a handful of tech enterprises and their ability to reshape a broader public debate across the country.
Even as Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey announced this year, he expressed concern over his online platform's removal from the president.
"Having to take these actions fragment the public conversation . . . And sets a precedent I feel is dangerous: the power an inpidual or corporation has over a part of the global public conversation," Dorsey said in one tweet.
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