San Francisco sues over Truth Social ‘insider trading’

The city says $100,000-per-month access to Trump's posts on Truth Social gives wealthy Wall Street players an unfair advantage over everyday investors.SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — San Francisco sued the company behind Truth Social over a tool that allows paid subscribers early access to President Donald Trump’s posts, which the city says gives wealthy financial players an unfair advantage over ordinary market investors.Announced earlier this summer, the Truth API service gives paying subscribers early access to the president’s posts on his Truth Social platform — which he owns — before the public sees them.This allows wealthy trading firms and other users willing to fork over the $100,000 monthly sum to be the first to see posts from Truth Social’s most influential accounts, including Trump’s, granting them instantaneous access to market-moving information, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu says in the lawsuit filed Monday in San Francisco Superior Court.“Early access to these investments gives wealthy trading firms an edge over ordinary investors, including millions of Californians who are saving for retirement, for college, and other long-term goals,” Chiu said at a press conference Tuesday announcing the lawsuit. “This unfairness directly harms any person who has a retirement account, a pension, a 401k, a 529 education plan, a typical investment account or even a new Trump account for your kid.”Chiu cites previous comments made by Trump Media Interim CEO Kevin McGurn, who explained how Truth API pushes out information at a 50-millisecond advantage that “goes right into an algorithmic trading platform and they start to look at context and figure out what those trades can be.”With trades often made within microseconds, Chiu claims the head start on nonpublic information allows high-frequency trading firms to make millions of dollars off rapid trades at the expense of other investors.“Trump Media created a marketplace that enables insider trading, which Trump directly profits from. This scheme turns the public trust into private profit. It is corruption, plain and simple,” Chiu said in a statement.“Californians should not be forced to compete against wealthy trading firms buying early access to market‑moving information. We are acting decisively to stop this corruption and protect Californians, who work hard, save, and invest responsibly. They deserve a fair marketplace and an ethical government that won’t sell them out to make a quick profit.”Chiu argues the “unprecedented corrupt scheme” violates public trust and California’s Unfair Competition Law. He is asking the court to block Trump Media from offering the Truth API service or similar tools, and to impose a penalty of up to $2,500 per violation of state law.Theresa Rutherford, president of Service Employees International Union 1021, said Truth API disadvantages everyday people who don’t have $100,000 a month to spend to get priority access to Trump’s posts.“People spend decades continuing to contribute to their pensions and retirement accounts. Those savings represent a lifetime of hard work. They should never be undermined by a pay-to-play system that lets high-frequency traders jump the line,” she said.Representatives for Truth Social and the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Trump Media announced Trump API in July as a way to create “lasting value for shareholders.” The publicly traded company, of which Trump himself is the majority and controlling shareholder, reported a net loss of $238.1 million for the second quarter of 2026.Baseline access to Truth API costs $100,000 per month, but customers can get a discounted monthly price of $60,000 if they commit to subscribing for three years. In addition to Trump’s own posts on the platform, subscribers also got faster access to the other nine most popular accounts on the platform: White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, the White House, Vice President JD Vance, FBI Director Kash Patel, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.Early customers included financial news organizations and high-frequency trading firms.Online news outlet The Intercept filed a similar lawsuit last month challenging the Truth API tool in New York federal court, calling it an “extraordinary, corrupt and unconstitutional” scheme that violates the First and Fifth Amendments.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads