Twitter files lawsuit against Texas Attorney General over retaliation after Trump ban

American social media platform Twitter has filed a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whom it accused of using his office to attack the company for banning former US President Donald Trump’s account. Twitter had banned Trump’s private account after the January 6 riot, accusing the Republican leader of repeatedly sharing misinformation regarding November’s presidential election among other things.

After Twitter banned Trump’s account, the Texas Attorney General launched an investigation against the social media giant and four other tech companies, including Google, Facebook, Amazon Web Services, and Apple for “discriminatory” action against the then US President Donald Trump. 

“First Amendment rights and transparency must be maintained for a free online community to operate and thrive. However, the seemingly coordinated de-platforming of the President of the United States and several leading voices not only chills free speech, it wholly silences those whose speech and political beliefs do not align with leaders of Big Tech companies,” Paxton had said in a press release after launching the probe. 

'Protected by free speech' 

Twitter believes Paxton’s move was in retaliation for its decision to ban Donald Trump from the platform. Twitter is now seeking a court order to uphold its editorial right, which it says is protected by the First Amendment of the US constitution. 

“Paxton made clear that he will use the full weight of his office, including his expansive investigatory powers, to retaliate against Twitter for having made editorial decisions with which he disagrees,” Twitter’s lawyers said in the lawsuit as reported by the Associated Press. 

Twitter permanently suspended Trump’s account after he was accused of inciting the January 6 Capitol Hill insurrection, in which five people were killed, including a police officer. Facebook also suspended Trump's handle after the incident. For years, conservatives have accused social media companies of bias against the right-wing, but there are several instances where these companies have failed to take action against government officials who post inappropriate content in violation of their moderation policies.