Digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Thursday over the government’s alleged social media surveillance of people who legally reside in the United States.
The complaint alleges that the government uses AI and other techniques to monitor the social media posts of virtually all noncitizens in the United States on valid visas, as well as many permanent residents. According to these claims, the U.S. government is looking for posts that express views the current government doesn’t like.
The list of banned posts includes posts that criticize American culture or the U.S. government, the complaint said. Expressing anti-Semitic/pro-Palestinian support, including support for university protests on this issue. Anything that justifies or trivializes the murder of Charlie Kirk. or that criticizes the Trump administration or its actions.
The EFF also claims that the government threatens non-nationals with penalties, including visa cancellation and entry restrictions.
The complaint points to postings to the State Department’s X account. This includes a currently pinned thread documenting visas revoked by the department for comments about Charlie Kirk.
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of the Auto Workers Union, the Teachers Union, and the Communications Workers Union.
EFF’s lawsuit alleges that these punitive measures and “viewpoint-based” surveillance are themselves unlawful violations of the free speech rights of these union members.
The full lawsuit can be viewed here.
