San Francisco Sues Trump Media Over Truth API Insider Trading

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu filed a lawsuit against Trump Media & Technology Group, alleging that the company's Truth API service facilitates insider trading and violates California's Unfair Competition Law. Launched on August 1, the subscription service charges financial firms and other organizations between $60,000 and $100,000 per month for access to posts from the president and other high-ranking officials. The lawsuit claims the service provides this information by milliseconds, creating a pay-to-play scheme that allows wealthy trading firms to capitalize on market-moving government data, such as trade tariffs and employment figures, before the general public.

Trump Media & Technology Group has reported over $10 million in annual revenue from more than 10 high-speed trading organizations. The company denies the allegations, defending the API as a standard subscription service for stock trading. In response to the legal action, the company criticized the lawsuit as the work of left-wing activists.

The city is seeking to block the Truth API program and impose civil penalties of $2,500 per violation. Chiu asserts that the scheme turns public trust into private profit and forces ordinary Californians to compete against firms with early access to government statements.