Europe 1 with AFP 10:20 a.m., May 9, 2022

Former US President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against Twitter, accusing it of "censorship".

His complaint was deemed inadmissible by the American courts, because the freedom of expression guaranteed by the American Constitution does not apply to a private company.

Donald Trump has been banned from Twitter since January 2021.

Donald Trump's return to Twitter is not for now.

A California court on Friday ruled a complaint by the former president of the United States against Twitter inadmissible: he wanted to be able to return to the social network from which he was banned for incitement to violence in January 2021, at the time of the storming of the Capitol by his supporters.

Donald Trump accused Twitter of "censorship", with the argument to oppose the closure of his account the freedom of expression, guaranteed by the American Constitution. 

Twitter is not affected by the US Constitution

"Plaintiffs are not in a strong position," said Californian judge James Donato, because "Twitter is a private company, and 'the First Amendment only applies to government-imposed speech restrictions'."

The platform's rules "give contractual permission to Twitter to act as it wishes with any account or content, for any reason, and even for no reason," it adds.

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Before being ousted from Twitter, the former head of state had some 89 million subscribers there.

He spoke to them every day, alternating between presidential announcements and attacks on his political enemies.

Donald Trump also asked the court to declare unconstitutional Section 230, a 1996 law that protects internet hosts from lawsuits related to content published by third parties.

But the magistrate replied that it did not hold unless the plaintiffs proved that they had suffered damage.

Could Donald Trump make his return to Twitter thanks to Elon Musk?

The move comes as Elon Musk reached an agreement with Twitter's board of directors to buy the California-based company for $44 billion.

The boss of Tesla wants to make it a bastion of freedom of expression, within the limits provided for by law but with a moderation of content much less restrictive than currently.

He considers, like many conservatives, that Twitter is "censoring".

Donald Trump, however, recently told American media that he had no intention of returning to the platform even if Elon Musk invited him back.

He launched his own social network in February, called "Truth Social".

The judge left the door open for an amended complaint based on his comments.