| Hey all, it's Kurt. Donald Trump built his presidency on platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google's YouTube. But times have certainly changed. On Wednesday, Trump sued all three companies, and their respective chief executive officers, claiming they violated the First Amendment by banning or suspending his accounts following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. On the surface, a former U.S. president personally suing the CEOs of some of the country's largest technology companies sounds like a huge deal. As with many things Trump, the reality is more subdued. The lawsuits—there were technically three separate filings—were quickly dismissed by industry experts. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University called the suits "a stunt." Paul Barrett, a former Bloomberg journalist and the deputy director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, said the lawsuits were "DOA." "I'll be filing a class action suit against Trump for unconstitutionally wasting everyone's time," tweeted Kate Klonick, who teaches law and technology at St. John's University. At their core, Trump is asking the court to reverse Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields tech platforms from lawsuits over the content their users post. Trump called the protections an "unconstitutional delegation of authority," and said the companies infringed upon his right to free speech by removing his accounts. But social media companies are not government agencies, and thus have their own First Amendment rights to run their platforms as they deem necessary, Barrett explained in an interview. "The First Amendment regulates how the government can deal with free speech," he said. "It does not regulate how private companies regulate free speech." He predicted that the lawsuits will be thrown out at the "preliminary stage." So why is Trump suing Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Google six months after he was first suspended from their platforms if he doesn't have much chance of winning? Reporters were quick to point out that Trump was using the lawsuits to help with fundraising as early as Wednesday morning, asking people to "contribute IMMEDIATELY" to help with his lawsuits against "UNFAIR CENSORSHIP." It's highly possible that Trump has further political ambitions, and a splashy, public lawsuit against the world's largest tech companies is an easy way to rally his supporters and raise some money. Then there's a second Trump tactic at play, Barrett said, and that's his ability to distract. It was just last week that the Trump Organization's longtime chief financial officer pleaded not guilty to federal indictment charges. "With Trump, timing is often relevant," Barrett said. "With one controversy, [Trump] is trying to distract you from yesterday's controversy." Which means that there are indeed a few good reasons for Trump to unveil some splashy lawsuits this week. A violation of the First Amendment just isn't one of them. —Kurt Wagner | 
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