Bulletins

Trump must follow Twitter's rules, Florida judge says

Judge rules that Trump can't ignore Twitter's terms of service just because he used to be president.

Donald Trump

Trump must follow Twitter's rules.

Image: The White House

A federal judge in Florida ruled Tuesday that Donald Trump is not exempt from following Twitter's terms of service just because he used to be president.

Twitter previously filed a motion to transfer the case from the Southern Florida federal court district to Northern California, which is a stipulation in the company's user agreement that Twitter account holders must sign. Trump had argued that he wasn't able to accept this clause because he was president when his Twitter account was suspended.

But U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. granted Twitter's motion, asserting that "Trump's status as President of the United States does not exclude him from the requirements of the forum selection clause in Twitter's Terms of Service." He further said Trump "had not advanced any legal authority to support his contention."

The former president was banned from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube after his encouragement of supporters participating in the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection. In July, he announced he was suing the companies for alleged censorship. Trump announced the launch of conservative social media platform TRUTH Social last week.

Lizzy Lawrence

Lizzy Lawrence ( @LizzyLaw_) is a reporter at Protocol, covering tools and productivity in the workplace. She's a recent graduate of the University of Michigan, where she studied sociology and international studies. She served as editor in chief of The Michigan Daily, her school's independent newspaper. She's based in D.C., and can be reached at llawrence@protocol.com.

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