Democrats Seek Probe of Paid Access to Trump Posts

Two Democratic senators, Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff, have asked the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate whether Trump Media's plan to charge for early access to President Donald Trump's posts on Truth Social violates the law.

This month, Trump Media unveiled Truth API, a paid data service that will give businesses "the fastest" access to posts from the 10 most influential accounts on Truth Social, including Trump's own account.

"This appears to be an outrageous abuse of the President's office for his personal benefit that undermines everyday investors and the integrity of our markets, while enriching Wall Street and other wealthy insiders", Warren and Schiff wrote in a letter addressed to SEC Chairman Paul Atkins.

Sources told Reuters that Trump Media is considering charging up to $100,000 a month for the service. Trump owns roughly a 41% stake in the company through a fund managed by his children, meaning he could profit from a paid subscription model.

The senators also noted that Trump has previously posted messages on Truth Social supporting Citigroup, Intel and Palantir, which they said increases the risk of insider trading and could undermine investor confidence in the fairness of financial markets.

(Reuters, bak)