San Francisco sues Trump Media, saying its Truth API enables insider trading

San Francisco has sued Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of Truth Social, over a paid service that gives subscribers early access to posts by President Donald Trump and other influential accounts. The city argues that the product, called Truth API, creates a marketplace for insider trading.

City Attorney David Chiu filed the complaint in San Francisco Superior Court on Monday. The company is the defendant; Trump himself is not named in the case.

What the city alleges

The suit says Truth API violates California's Unfair Competition Law by selling early access to market-moving government information that is nonpublic until it is published. Firms that can pay get a head start; ordinary investors react only after prices move, the city argues. "Trump Media created a marketplace that enables insider trading, which Trump directly profits from," Chiu said.

How the service works

Trump Media announced the feed in July and it went live on Aug. 1. It delivers posts from the ten most influential Truth Social accounts, including Trump and other White House figures, to paying customers. Subscriptions cost up to $100,000 a month. The company says the feed is aimed at firms most affected by delays in information, such as high-frequency traders.

Posts cited in the complaint

The filing points to several episodes. On April 9, 2025, Trump posted "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT." hours before announcing a 90-day pause on tariffs; the S&P 500 rose 9.5% that day and the Nasdaq had its largest one-day gain since 2008. On May 23, 2025, U.S. Steel shares jumped after he said he no longer opposed Nippon Steel's $14 billion investment.

The suit also cites a post that shared monthly Bureau of Labor employment figures about 12 hours before their official release.

Responses and next steps

Trump Media rejected the claims, saying Californians "should outsource their future lawsuits to AI chatbots" that will "grasp the basic distinction between public and nonpublic information."

San Francisco is asking a judge to bar Truth API and similar services and to impose a $2,500 fine for each violation of the Unfair Competition Law. In August, The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation filed a similar suit in New York federal court. Trump holds a 41% stake in Trump Media, held in a trust controlled by his son Donald Trump Jr. The company reported a net loss of more than $238 million this year.