Former president Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he is suing Twitter, Facebook, Google, and their CEOs Jack Dorsey, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sundar Pichai, alleging that the social media juggernauts violated Trump’s First Amendment rights when they all banned him from their services. The 45th president has been barred from using Twitter, Facebook, and Google’s Youtube for months now after a mass of his supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6th.

The suits against these tech giants are requesting that Trump be reinstated on all platforms. Currently, his only chance at returning to any of these sites lies with Facebook, which recently said Trump was banned until at least January 2023, although he may be allowed to return after that. 

The suits also demand that the court decide section 230 of the Communications Decency Act be ruled unconstitutional. Trump has long railed against section 230, which prohibits technology companies from being held liable by what users on their platforms post. 

“We’re not looking to settle,” Trump told reporters at a press conference in front of his gold club in Bedminster, New Jersey. “We don’t know what’s going to happen but we’re not looking to settle,”

Already there are many analysts saying the lawsuits will likely not be held up in a court of law. The claim that Trump’s First Amendment rights were violated will have a hard time passing muster with a judge because Facebook, Twitter, and Google are all private entities and not government institutions, therefore they are free to make choices related to speech that don’t violate constitutional rights. Still, it is one of Trump’s largest moves against Big Tech, a group he has been fighting since before leaving office. Following his ban from the platforms, Trump’s opinion on the companies only lowered and his drive against them increased. 

Immediately after announcing the lawsuits, Trump’s political action committees began sending out fundraising emails asking for money to help fund the lawsuits. 

A new poll from Data for Progress says that a majority of voters think social media websites are playing a major role in the spread of lies, conspiracies and division across the United States. Additionally, the same poll finds that many voters feel that the CEOs of these social media sites are actively profiting and making money off of rampant mistruths.

The poll is just the latest news proving that people on both sides of the political aisle are not fans of social media and its grip on the public’s thinking. Although Democrats and Republicans across the country disagree on many things, they have one common consensus: social media is only driving this country apart more.

58% of voters in the new poll see social media playing a “very significant role” in the spread of lies and misinformation. The data states that Republicans feel this way at a slightly higher rate than Democrats, 65% to 50%. Independent voters feeling this way came in at 63%.

More troubling is the fact that most citizens think that little can be done to change the opinion of someone once they start to believe conspiracies and lies that are found online. A whopping 68% of all voters state that once someone is “hooked on a conspiracy” it is very difficult to change their minds. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents are all in sync on this topic with them believing it 68%, 69%, and 68% respectively.

The poll also found what could only be described as truly bad news for CEOs such as Mark Zuckerberg. Data for Progress says that 66% of voters believe that social media CEOs are profiting off of lies that find a home on their sites. Furthermore, 63% also feel that these social media companies actively allow the conspiracies to continue because it “kept users hooked on their products.”

The poll is quite damning for Facebook, Twitter, and other popular sites because it shows just how much people distrust them. However, it is unlikely that most of these voters will stop using the same sites they criticize. It feels that most people do not like the way these companies operate but still accept it and use their products daily.

Seven of the biggest technology companies in the world are urging the federal government to hold them accountable about climate change. 

Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Google parent company Alphabet, and more sent a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler on Friday, asking that the SEC require businesses to regularly reveal issues related to climate change to shareholders and the public. 

The coalition’s letter stated that the companies “believe that climate disclosures are critical to ensure that companies follow through on stated climate commitments and to track collective progress towards addressing global warming and building a prosperous, resilient zero-carbon economy.” It marks one of the most high-profile attempts by big tech to spur more self-responsibility and involvement from their sector and follows other instances of the industry being vocal about the need to address climate change.

Perhaps the biggest request in the letter is regarding greenhouse gases. The companies claim that the SEC should require businesses to report on these gas emissions in an annual report that provides transparency to anyone involved in the company and any potential customers as well. 

Additionally, the group of businesses stated that they have purchased 21 gigawatts of clean energy in their quest for a fully renewable economy. 

The letter doesn’t come as a major surprise, since many major tech companies have long been adamant about fighting climate change. However, even the most vocal companies have been criticized for their lack of tangible action. Recently, some of these companies – such as Amazon – have put forth plans to show how serious they are about tackling the pressing issue. Jeff Bezos launched the “Climate Pledge” in September 2019, which included plans for Amazon to use 80% renewable energy by 2024 before transitioning to complete zero emissions by the year 2030.