Rep. Ritchie Torres has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to examine whether Trump Media & Technology Group’s new Truth API complies with federal securities laws, as the company prepares to sell Wall Street firms faster access to President Trump’s Truth Social posts beginning August 1.

In a letter to SEC Chair Paul Atkins, the New York Democrat requested a review of whether the product, which would give paying clients rapid access to the president’s posts, violates federal law or creates improper market advantages.

Torres questions whether Trump can monetize faster access to his posts

Torres argued that the arrangement is not comparable to a standard social media platform selling access to its public feed because Trump still holds roughly 41% of Trump Media through a revocable trust. In the letter, Torres wrote that charging traders for a speed advantage on potentially market-moving presidential statements is “fundamentally different” from ordinary data licensing.

The request asks Atkins to determine whether the API’s design and marketing conflict with federal securities laws, market-manipulation rules, or broker-dealer obligations. Torres also urged the SEC to coordinate with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Office of Government Ethics, and to state clearly whether the agency has opened a review.

The letter invokes principles at the core of the SEC’s fair-disclosure framework. Regulation Fair Disclosure, adopted by the SEC in 2000, prohibits publicly traded companies from selectively disclosing material nonpublic information to preferred parties. While Truth Social posts are technically public, Torres’s letter raises the question of whether selling faster delivery of a controlling shareholder’s statements to paying clients creates a functionally similar advantage — one that could bear on the agency’s broader mandate to protect equal access to market-moving information.

The latest request follows other clashes between Torres and the Trump administration. Torres questioned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over tariffs and Federal Reserve independence at a February hearing, and in March he described the president’s decision to strike Iran without congressional authorization as unlawful.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described the Truth API as a form of insider trading. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said the product is “plowing new ground” in predictive markets.

Trump Media says the API delivers public Truth Social data quickly

Trump Media introduced the API service last week, saying it would provide real-time posts from Truth Social’s 10 most-trending accounts. The accounts cited include Trump, the White House, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The company has reportedly discussed licensing fees of up to $100,000 per month, along with a discounted rate of $60,000 per month for customers that commit to a three-year plan. Clients that pay more would also receive access to posts from additional accounts.

The pricing tiers underscore a broader concern that market watchdogs have flagged in other contexts: tiered data access can create structural information asymmetries between institutional players and retail participants. The SEC has previously examined how differential access to market data — including colocation services and direct data feeds — affects execution quality and market fairness, most notably through its 2020 changes to the national market system data infrastructure.

Interim CEO Kevin McGurn has promoted the licensing program as a source of steady, high-profit revenue. Trump Media, which trades on Nasdaq under the ticker DJT, has sought new revenue streams after reporting substantial operating losses; the company disclosed a net loss of roughly $400 million in 2024 on modest advertising revenue. The API product represents one of the company’s most concrete attempts to monetize its platform infrastructure beyond traditional advertising.

He has also noted that financial markets already react to the president’s posts, though he did not address the speed advantage the product could provide to large institutions compared with retail traders.

A Trump Media (NASDAQ: DJT) spokesperson defended the service, calling it “the fastest way to ingest publicly available Truth Social data.”

Crypto ethics debate also weighs on CLARITY Act negotiations

The dispute over Truth API comes as President Trump’s financial interests, including his cryptocurrency involvement, remain a focus of Democratic ethics concerns. The issue has gained further attention since Trump disclosed nearly $1.4 billion in crypto-related income for 2025.

Cryptopolitan previously reported that Democrats are withholding support for the CLARITY Act ahead of its August deadline unless the legislation includes ethics language addressing how officials may profit from digital assets while in office.

Cryptopolitan also reported that Sen. Elizabeth Warren and four colleagues called for hearings in June over a reported $500 million UAE-linked investment in World Liberty Financial, the Trump family crypto venture.

The White House has agreed to some ethics provisions in the crypto bill, including a ban on federal officials issuing digital assets. Democrats, however, have objected to a proposal that would make the Department of Justice the main enforcement authority rather than state attorneys general.

Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a Maryland Democrat and CLARITY Act negotiator, called the DOJ enforcement proposal “an unserious offer.” The White House, meanwhile, has blamed Democrats for potentially blocking the bill.