San Francisco is suing Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, over Truth API, a service that sells selected customers early access to posts by President Donald Trump and other White House officials.
Filed in California state court, the lawsuit alleges that Truth API is a “corrupt business scheme” violating California’s Unfair Competition Law and federal ethics and anti-corruption laws that prohibit insider trading. Trump Media charges select customers $100,000 a month for early access to the 10 most influential Truth Social accounts.
The complaint says Trump’s posts can affect financial markets. It cites an August 21 post about lowering ground-beef prices through tariff exemptions and alleges that cattle futures declined significantly when markets opened a few hours later.
Trump Media interim CEO Kevin McGurn has said that markets already move on Truth Social posts. The company reported a net loss of more than $238 million earlier this year. Under an agreement with Trump Media, Truth Social has a six-hour exclusivity window for Trump’s posts.
San Francisco alleges that the service gives paying customers access to financially valuable information before ordinary investors. The city is asking a judge to ban Truth API or similar services and impose a fine of $2,500 per violation. Trump Media has not disclosed its clients and says it plans to market Truth API to AI companies and large news organizations.
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