First lawsuit filed against Trump social media order

A technology policy organization filed the first lawsuit against President Trump‘s executive order targeting social media companies on Tuesday.

The case filed by the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) alleges that the directive violates the First Amendment by curtailing protected speech by platforms and individuals.

The executive order, signed by Trump last week amid his feud with Twitter over it fact-checking some of his posts, seeks among other things to unwind Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which gives social media companies immunity for content posted on their platforms by third parties and allows them to make “good faith” efforts to moderate content.

The lawsuit — filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia — asks the court to invalidate the executive order, claiming that even though it has not yet fully taken effect it could still chill speech.

“The Executive Order is designed to deter social media services from fighting misinformation, voter suppression, and the stoking of violence on their platforms,” CDT president and CEO Alexandra Givens said in a statement.

“CDT filed suit today because the President’s actions are a direct attack on the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment,” she added.

The suit is expected to be the first of many against the order, which experts say is on shaky legal ground to begin with.