Twitter filed a lawsuit against Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a California federal court Monday and asked a judge to halt the state鈥檚 top lawyer from investigating the company.
The social media giant鈥檚 court filings include a request for a temporary restraining order that would keep Paxton and his office from enforcing a demand that seeks documents revealing the company鈥檚 internal decision making processes for banning users, among other things.
Paxton, a fervent supporter of former President Donald Trump, sent the company a civil investigative demand after it banned Trump from its platform following January鈥檚 deadly siege at the U.S. Capitol.
Twitter wrote that it seeks to stop Paxton from 鈥渇rom unlawfully abusing his authority as the highest law-enforcement officer of the State of Texas to intimidate, harass, and target Twitter in retaliation for Twitter鈥檚 exercise of its First Amendment rights.鈥� The company claimed Paxton鈥檚 鈥渞etaliatory鈥� investigation violated the First Amendment as an inappropriate use of government authority.
A spokesperson for Paxton did not immediately respond for comment.
Before Democratic President Joe Biden's inauguration, Paxton filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the election results in four battleground states. It was , but from the Republican attorneys general of 17 other states before the
The attorney general is among after officials and followers faced repercussions for sowing the election doubts that fueled the Capitol insurrection.
Twitter is one of five tech and social media firms to which Paxton issued civil investigative demands to learn about the procedures such companies use to regulate postings or user accounts.
Paxton, who the rally that preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol, criticized companies鈥� moves after the siege, which included Twitter banning Trump from its platform.
鈥淭he seemingly coordinated de-platforming of the President of the United States and several leading voices not only chills free speech, it wholly silences those whose speech and political beliefs do not align with leaders of Big Tech companies,鈥� Paxton said in a Jan. 13 .
Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott that seeks to crack down on social media companies' perceived censorship of conservative voices. would prohibit social media companies 鈥� including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube 鈥� from blocking, banning, demonetizing, or otherwise discriminating against a user based on their viewpoint or their location within Texas.
Lt. Gov. , who presides over the Texas Senate, has identified the bill as one of his 31 for this legislative session. State Sen. , R-Mineola, is sponsoring the measure. He filed a in 2019 that won Senate approval, but died in committee in the state House.
In its filings Monday, Twitter detailed their suspension of multiple accounts, including Trump鈥檚 personal account, which they banned for his false claims about the presidential election and the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol. Five days after the president鈥檚 Twitter account was suspended on Jan. 8, Paxton issued the and four other tech and social media firms.
In the lawsuit, Twitter said while the company 鈥渟trives for transparency,鈥� the public disclosure of such documents would 鈥渃ompromise Twitter鈥檚 ability to effectively and efficiently moderate content on its platform.鈥�
Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms have come under fire for enabling misinformation spread and propagating violence like the Jan. 6 attacks. Last year, Democratic lawmakers presented a Congressional bill that would hold social media companies accountable for amplifying such content, but the proposal gained little traction.
Twitter鈥檚 suit comes as Paxton faces a series of other legal issues, including claims of abuse of office and bribery. Former aides allege the attorney general used his power to assist an Austin real estate developer with legal matters after he helped Paxton remodel his house and employed a woman with whom Paxton allegedly had an affair. The whistleblowers鈥� allegations have reportedly an FBI investigation.
Four of the former aides claim they were fired in retaliation for telling authorities they believed Paxton had done illegal favors for a political donor and are suing. During a , which Paxton did not attend, lawyers representing his office argued Paxton is not a public employee and . The attorney general has previously dismissed the claims against him as 鈥渇alse allegations鈥� from 鈥渞ogue employees.鈥�