- The lawsuit on Tuesday, filed by the Center for Democracy in Technology, argues that the order violated the First Amendment.
- Trump issued the executive order, which seeks to change a law protecting social-media companies , after Twitter flagged his tweets with a fact-check label.
- Legal experts told Business Insider that the order is likely hard to implement, and parts of it may be illegal.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .
A technology advocacy group filed the first lawsuit challenging President Trump's recent executive order targeting social-media companies.
A technology advocacy group on Tuesday sued the Trump administration over its executive order targeting social-media companies, arguing that the order was "retaliatory" and violates the First Amendment.
The lawsuit from the Center for Democracy and Technology, based in Washington, DC, is the first legal challenge for President Donald Trump's executive order last week, which legal experts have said would be difficult to implement and possibly illegal.
Trump issued the executive order to change Section 230 , part of a 1996 communications law that protects social-media companies if they choose to moderate content, after Twitter flagged his tweets with a fact-check notice. The tweets had made unsubstantiated claims about mail-in voting.
The lawsuit argues that the order is "plainly retaliatory" in its response to Twitter's action, and that it "attacks a private company, Twitter, for exercising its First Amendment right to comment on the President's statements." Twitter put a notice on the tweet but did not take it down.
The suit also argues that Trump's order violates the First Amendment because it "seeks to curtail and chill the constitutionally protected speech of all online platforms and individuals by demonstrating the willingness to use government authority to retaliate against those who criticize the government."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Legal experts told Business Insider's Sonam Sheth and Ashley Gold that parts of Trump's order are likely illegal and would require federal agencies to go against precedent.
"It doesn't seem like it's enforceable. It will be smacked down relatively quickly by injunction or by litigation and the courts," said Kate Klonick, a professor of internet law at St. John's University. "It ignores 25 years of jurisprudence broadly interpreting Section 230."
NOW WATCH: Tax Day is now July 15 this is what it's like to do your own taxes for the very first time
See Also:
- What you need to know about Section 230, the controversial part of an internet law Trump targeted in a new executive order
- Trump has officially declared war on Twitter and Facebook. Here's the latest on the executive order targeting social media and the reaction at internet companies.
- A political strategist turned VC thinks Trump's war with Twitter and Facebook could have a silver lining for small startups trying to compete with the giants