President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform has launched a new service, “Truth API,” offering early access to his social media posts for a fee. This service, which began on Saturday (August 1), allows financial firms and other organizations to pay up to $100,000 a month for a direct, licensed, real-time feed of President Trump’s most impactful posts. These posts often include announcements on economic policy and global affairs, which have been known to influence market movements.
The move has sparked controversy and raised ethical and legal concerns. Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Adam Schiff of California have called for an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), alleging that the service could violate securities laws. They argue that it constitutes “an outrageous abuse of the President’s office for his personal benefit,” potentially enriching Wall Street and wealthy insiders at the expense of everyday investors.
Securities experts, including Renée Jones, a former SEC official, have expressed concerns that the service may breach insider trading laws. These laws prohibit the misuse of non-public information to gain an unfair trading advantage. Jones highlighted that monetizing the president’s posts could be seen as misappropriating information, violating the duty of trust and confidence.
Despite these concerns, Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social, defends the service. Spokeswoman Shannon Devine stated that the Truth API provides the fastest way to access publicly available data and dismissed allegations of insider trading as baseless.
The SEC has not yet commented on the request for an investigation. As the largest shareholder of Trump Media, President Trump, through a trust controlled by his eldest son, stands to benefit financially from the success of Truth API.
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