Will Trump’s big tech lawsuits succeed? Experts say chances are slim

Legal scholars suggest former president's complaint may bring the attention he craves but doesn't present a serious legal argument

Donald Trump may have filed lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, claiming he and other conservatives have been censored - but legal scholars say his case is probably doomed to fail.

The former president was suspended from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube after the 6 January Capitol attack over fears he would incite further violence. Trump on Wednesday filed class-action lawsuits in federal court in Miami against the three companies, arguing these suspensions violated the first amendment, despite the fact that the companies are private and therefore subject to different rules.

Trump has the first amendment argument exactly wrong," said Paul Barrett, the deputy director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. The first amendment applies to government censorship or speech regulation. It does not stop private sector corporations from regulating content on their platforms."