❯ Trump Media Launches Paid Real-Time Data Feed, Two Senators Demand SEC Investigation

MILLISECOND PUSHOn July 16, Trump Media & Technology Group launched a paid data service, Truth API, that pushes posts from the most-followed accounts on Truth Social to subscribers with millisecond-level latency. The company has discussed pricing as high as $100,000 per month. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff have written to SEC Chairman Paul Atkins demanding an investigation into whether the service violates federal securities law.

41% STAKEAccording to CNBC, the two senators used strong language, calling it “a blatant abuse of the presidency that could give Wall Street an unfair trading advantage.” The reasoning lies in the ownership structure: Trump holds roughly 41% of Trump Media through a revocable trust managed by his family, meaning he personally benefits from the service’s revenue. The more practical issue is the content — Trump’s posts frequently contain policy information on tariffs, personnel, and diplomacy that can move markets within minutes. The senators argue that the biggest beneficiaries are high-frequency trading firms that depend on millisecond execution; the tiny time advantage they get over ordinary investors is precisely the most valuable part of such information. The letter asks the SEC to determine whether the service touches rules on insider trading and market manipulation. Earlier, when Trump Media announced the service on July 16, it did not publicly disclose pricing; the quoted price was subsequently reported by the media.

TIME LAG PRICEDThis episode pushes a previously murky question to the fore: can the time lag on policy information be retailed? The financial data industry has long had a mature low-latency business, but the seller has never been the policymaker himself. Regulators and compliance departments now face a new question — whether subscribing to such data itself constitutes obtaining material non-public information. Buyers are not off the hook either: the advantage gained for $100,000 a month could become evidence in some future enforcement action.

▪ SIGNALPutting the president’s posting time lag up for sale is tantamount to putting a price on the regulatory bottom line of “information equality.”