Trump Media offers paid early-access to presidential Truth Social posts, raising legal concerns
Trump Media & Technology Group is selling a subscription that gives investors early access to the president's Truth Social feed for up to $100,000 a month, prompting securities experts and Democratic senators to question its compliance with insider-trading laws.
Trump Media & Technology Group announced a subscription service that provides traders with early access to posts on the president's Truth Social platform. The "Truth API" will allow paying customers, reportedly for as much as $100,000 a month, to receive the president's statements before they appear publicly, a feature that could benefit high-frequency trading operations.
Renée Jones, a Boston College professor and former senior SEC official, said the arrangement appears to conflict with federal securities regulations that prohibit the misuse of non-public information. She noted that the 2012 Stock Act bars members of the executive branch from trading on privileged data and suggested that monetizing early access to presidential posts could be viewed as a breach of duty and confidence.
Trump Media spokesperson Shannon Devine responded that the service merely offers the fastest way to ingest publicly available Truth Social data and rejected claims that it constitutes insider trading. Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff sent a letter to the SEC urging an investigation, describing the service as an abuse of the presidential office that could undermine market integrity.
The SEC declined to comment on the matter. Critics, including former SEC lawyer Virginia Canter, argue that the product creates an uneven playing field by giving wealthy institutional investors information not available to the broader public.