EU laws regulate transfers of EEA personal data to third countries, such as the United States, that have not been found to provide adequate protection of such personal data. Recent legal developments in the EU have created complexity and uncertainty regarding transfers of personal data from the EEA and the UK to the United States and other jurisdictions. For example, on July 16, 2020, the European Court of Justice (“CJEU”) invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework (“Privacy Shield”2012 (the “JOBS Act”), which provided companies with a mechanism to comply with data protection requirements when transferring personal data from the EEA/UK to the United States. The same decision also cast doubt on the ability to use one of the primary alternatives to the Privacy Shield, namely, the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCCs”), to lawfully transfer personal data from Europe to the United States and most other countries (though the SCCs currently remain a valid data transfer mechanism under the GDPR and UK GDPR). On July 10, 2023, the European Commission adopted an adequacy decision concluding that the United States ensures an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred from the European Union to organizations in the United States that are included in the “Data Privacy Framework List,” which is maintained by the U.S. Department of Commerce pursuant to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. The impact of the European Commission’s adequacy decision is complex, evolving, and may be reviewed by the CJEU. A future invalidation of the Privacy Shield by the CJEU will create additional uncertainty and will mean there are few if any viable alternatives to the Privacy Shield and the SCCs for the foregoing purposes, which may lead to government enforcement actions, litigation, fines and penalties or adverse publicity that could have an adverse effect on TMTG’s reputation, revenue, operations and business.
In Canada, TMTG is subject to the laws of the individual provinces, as well as Canada’s Personal Information and Protection of Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”). PIPEDA provides Canadian residents with privacy protections and sets out rules for how companies may collect, use and disclose personal information in the course of commercial activities. The costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, these and other international data privacy and security laws may limit the use and adoption of TMTG’s solutions, products and services and could have a materially adverse impact on its business. Any failure or perceived failure by TMTG or third-party service providers to comply with international data privacy and security laws may lead to regulatory enforcement actions, fines, private lawsuits or reputational damage.
Evolving definitions of personal data within the EU, especially relating to the classification of IP addresses, machine or device identifiers, geo-location data and other such information, may cause TMTG to change its business practices, diminish the quality of its data and the value of its solution, and hamper its ability to provide or expand its offerings. TMTG’s failure to comply with evolving interpretations of applicable laws and regulations, or to adequately protect personal data, could result in enforcement action against TMTG or reputational harm, which could have a material adverse impact on TMTG’s business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition to compliance with government regulations, TMTG expects to participate in trade associations and industry self-regulatory groups that promulgate best practices or codes of conduct addressing the provision of internet advertising. TMTG could be adversely affected by changes to these guidelines and codes in ways that are inconsistent with its practices or in conflict with the laws and regulations of U.S. or international regulatory authorities. For instance, new guidelines, codes or interpretations, by self-regulatory organizations or government agencies, may require additional disclosures or additional consumer consents, such as “opt-in” permissions to share, link or use data, such as health data from third parties, in certain ways. If TMTG fails to abide by, or is perceived as not operating in accordance with, industry best practices or any industry guidelines or codes with regard to privacy, its reputation may suffer and TMTG could lose relationships with advertisers and digital media properties.
Economic downturns and market conditions beyond TMTG’s control could adversely affect its business, financial condition and operating results.
TMTG’s business depends on the overall demand for advertising and on the economic health of advertisers that benefit from Truth Social. Economic downturns or unstable market conditions may cause advertisers to decrease their advertising budgets, which could reduce spend with Truth Social and adversely affect TMTG’s business, financial condition and operating results. For example, to the extent there is a disruption in economic activity globally, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results through prolonged decreases in advertising spend, credit deterioration of our customers, depressed economic activity, or declines in capital markets.
The loss of key personnel or the inability of replacements to quickly and successfully perform in their new roles could adversely affect TMTG’s business.
TMTG depends on the leadership and experience of its relatively small number of key executive management personnel. The pursuit of the merger and the preparation for the integration have placed a burden on TMTG’s management and internal resources. TMTG has experienced management departures, and may continue to experience management departures. Any significant diversion of management attention away from ongoing business concerns and any difficulties encountered in the transition and integration process could have a material adverse effect on TMTG’s business, financial condition and results of operations. The loss of the services of these key employees or TMTG’s executive management members could have a material adverse effect on TMTG’s business and prospects, as TMTG may not be able to find suitable individuals to replace such personnel on a timely basis or without incurring increased costs. Furthermore, if TMTG loses or terminates the services of one or more of its key employees or if one or more of TMTG’s current or former executives or key employees joins a competitor or otherwise competes with TMTG, it could impair TMTG’s business and its ability to successfully implement TMTG’s business plan. Additionally, if TMTG is unable to hire qualified replacements for its executive and other key positions in a timely fashion, its ability to execute its business plan would be harmed. Even if TMTG can quickly hire qualified replacements, TMTG could experience operational disruptions and inefficiencies during any such transition. TMTG believes that its future success will depend on its continued ability to attract and retain highly skilled and qualified personnel.
In addition, many of TMTG’s key technologies and systems will be custom-made for TMTG’s business by TMTG’s personnel. The loss of key engineering, product development, marketing and sales personnel could disrupt TMTG’s operations and have an adverse effect on TMTG’s business.
As TMTG continues to grow, TMTG cannot guarantee that it will continue to attract the personnel it needs to maintain its competitive position. In particular, TMTG intends to hire additional technically-skilled personnel following the Closing, and TMTG expects to face significant competition from other companies in hiring such personnel. As TMTG matures, the incentives to attract, retain and motivate employees provided by TMTG’s equity awards or by future arrangements, such as through cash bonuses, may not be effective. If TMTG does not succeed in attracting, hiring and integrating excellent personnel, or retaining and motivating existing personnel, TMTG may be unable to grow effectively.
If Truth Social fails to develop and maintain followers or a sufficient audience, if adverse trends develop in the social media platforms generally, or if President Trump were to cease to be able to devote substantial time to Truth Social, TMTG’s business would be adversely affected.
Social media platforms are speculative businesses because revenues and income derived from them depend primarily upon the continued acceptance of that platform. Public acceptance of a particular platform depends upon, among other things, the ease of use of the platform, promotion of that platform, and the quality and acceptance of competing platforms. A user decline could make it economically inefficient to continue providing for the use of the platform. If President Trump fails to retain the public’s interest, or if the customer base were to cease using Truth Social, it could result in a write-down of TMTG’s capitalized development costs. The amount of any write-down would vary depending on a number of factors, including when the product or service ceased.
TMTG has placed emphasis on building a platform for all Americans to freely express themselves through Truth Social. In particular, President Trump has stated that this is a platform for all who have been censored by big tech. Failure to realize this vision would adversely affect TMTG’s brand and business prospects.
Truth Social is being developed as a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time, and the market for Truth Social is relatively new and may not develop as expected, if at all. People who are not Truth Social users may not understand the value of Truth Social. Convincing potential new users, especially users who oppose big tech censorship, of the value of Truth Social is critical to increasing TMTG’s user base and to the success of TMTG’s business. In addition, there are a number of other social media platforms that focus on the same audience that Truth Social will focus on. To the extent users prefer a platform that is not associated with President Trump, our ability to attract users may decrease. Additionally, as a private company under new ownership, X may demonstrate a sustained commitment to free speech principles that will heighten competition for users who prioritize such principles. Failure to attract a sufficient user base would adversely affect TMTG’s business prospects.
If TMTG’s users do not continue to contribute content or their contributions are not valuable to other users, TMTG may experience a decline in the number of users accessing its products and services and user engagement, which could result in the loss of advertisers and revenue.
TMTG’s success depends on its ability to provide users with products, which in turn for Truth Social depends on the content contributed by TMTG’s users. TMTG believes that one of Truth Social’s competitive advantages will be the quality, quantity and real-time nature of the content on Truth Social, and that access to unique or real-time content is one of the main reasons users may visit Truth Social. TMTG seeks to foster a broad and engaged user community, and TMTG intends to encourage high-profile individuals and entities to use TMTG’s products and services to freely express their views to broad audiences without the fear of being censored or cancelled for any unpopular or non-woke opinions. TMTG may also encourage media outlets to use its products and services to distribute their content. If users, including influential users, do not contribute content to Truth Social, and it is unable to provide users with valuable and timely content, TMTG’s user base and user engagement may decline. Additionally, if TMTG is not able to address user concerns regarding the safety and security of Truth Social or if TMTG is unable to successfully prevent abusive or other hostile behavior on Truth Social, the size of the Truth Social user base and user engagement may decline. TMTG may rely on the sale of advertising services for the substantial majority of TMTG’s revenue. If TMTG experiences a decline in the number of users or a decline in user engagement, including as a result of the loss of high-profile individuals and entities who generate content on Truth Social, advertisers may not view Truth Social as attractive for their marketing expenditures, and may reduce their spending with TMTG—which would harm TMTG’s business and operating results.
TMTG’s focus on product innovation and user engagement rather than short-term operating results may adversely affect TMTG’s revenues.
TMTG is committed to quickly developing and launching new and innovative features. TMTG intends to focus on improving the user experience for Truth Social and on developing new and improved products and services for the advertisers on Truth Social. TMTG intends to prioritize innovation and the experience for users and advertisers on Truth Social over short-term operating results. TMTG may frequently make product and service decisions that may reduce TMTG’s short-term operating results if it believes that the decisions are consistent with its goals to improve the user experience and performance for advertisers, which it believes will improve its operating results over the long term. These intended decisions may not be consistent with the short- term expectations of investors and may not produce the long-term benefits that TMTG expects, in which case Truth Social user growth and user engagement, its relationships with advertisers and its business and operating results could be harmed. In addition, TMTG’s intent to focus on the user experience may negatively impact TMTG’s relationships with prospective advertisers. This could result in a loss of advertisers, which could harm TMTG’s revenue and operating results.
Truth Social user growth and engagement on mobile devices depend upon effective operation with mobile operating systems, networks, and standards that TMTG does not control.
TMTG intends to make its products and services available across a variety of operating systems and through websites. TMTG will be dependent on the interoperability of Truth Social with popular devices, desktop and mobile operating systems and web browsers that TMTG does not control, such as Mac OS, Windows, Android, iOS, Chrome and Firefox. Any changes in such systems, devices or web browsers that degrade the functionality of TMTG’s products and services or give preferential treatment to competitive products or services could adversely affect usage of TMTG’s products and services. Further, if the number of platforms for which TMTG develops its product expands, it will result in an increase in TMTG’s operating expenses. In order to deliver high- quality products and services, it is important that TMTG’s products and services work well with a range of operating systems, networks, devices, web browsers and standards that TMTG does not control. In addition, because a majority of TMTG’s future users may access TMTG’s products and services through mobile devices, TMTG is particularly dependent on the interoperability of its products and services with mobile devices and operating systems. TMTG may not be successful in developing relationships with key participants in the mobile industry or in developing products or services that operate effectively with these operating systems, networks, devices, web browsers and standards. In the event that it is difficult for TMTG’s users to access and use TMTG’s products and services, particularly on their mobile devices, TMTG’s user growth and engagement could be harmed, and its business and operating results could be adversely affected.
TMTG may not be successful in its efforts to grow and monetize Truth Social.
TMTG may not be successful in building products that maintain user engagement. If TMTG is not successful in its efforts to grow Truth Social and monetize such growth, TMTG’s user growth and user engagement and TMTG’s financial results may be adversely affected.
TMTG’s independent registered public accounting firm has indicated that TMTG’s financial condition raises substantial doubt as to its ability to continue as a going concern.
The combined financial statements which accompany this Report have been prepared assuming that TMTG will continue as a going concern. As discussed in the report of TMTG’s independent registered public accounting firm and the combined financial statements, TMTG has suffered negative cash flows and recurring losses from operations that raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.
To date, TMTG has financed its operations principally through loans or offerings of securities exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. TMTG’s management believes that capital raised from the Business Combination will be sufficient to retire existing debt and to fund existing operations should projected cash flow be insufficient to fund operations. TMTG may require substantial additional financing at various intervals in order to continue to develop and promote Truth Social, including significant requirements for operating expenses including intellectual property protection and enforcement, for pursuit of regulatory approvals, and for commercialization of Truth Social. TMTG can provide no assurance that additional funding will be available on a timely basis, on terms acceptable to TMTG, or at all. In the event that TMTG is unable to obtain such financing, it will not be able to fully develop and commercialize Truth Social. If TMTG becomes unable to obtain additional capital and to continue as a going concern, it may have to liquidate its assets and the value TMTG receives for its assets in liquidation or dissolution could be significantly lower than the values reflected in TMTG’s financial statements.
TMTG’s estimates of market opportunity and forecasts of market growth may prove to be inaccurate.
Market opportunity estimates and growth forecasts, whether obtained from third-party sources or developed internally, are subject to significant uncertainty and are based on assumptions and estimates that may prove to be inaccurate. Any estimates and forecasts relating to the size and expected growth of the target market and market demand which may inform TMTG’s financial model may also prove to be inaccurate. The estimated addressable market may not materialize in the timeframe estimated by management, if ever, and even if the markets meet the size estimates and growth estimates considered in relation to TMTG’s financial model, our business could fail to grow at similar rates.
TMTG’s business depends on continued and unimpeded access to Truth Social on the internet by TMTG’s users and advertisers. If TMTG’s users experience disruptions in internet service or if internet service providers are able to block, degrade or charge for access to TMTG’s products and services, TMTG could incur additional expenses and the loss of users and advertisers.
TMTG depends on the ability of TMTG’s users and advertisers to access the internet. This access will be provided by companies—including hostile legacy technology companies—that have significant market power in the broadband and internet access marketplace, including incumbent telephone companies, cable companies, mobile communications companies, government-owned service providers, device manufacturers and operating system providers, any of whom could take actions that degrade, disrupt or increase the cost of user access to TMTG’s products or services, which would, in turn, negatively impact TMTG’s business. The adoption of any laws or regulations that adversely affect the growth, popularity or use of the internet, including laws or practices limiting internet neutrality, could decrease the demand for, or the usage of, TMTG’s products and services, increase TMTG’s cost of doing business and adversely affect TMTG’s operating results. TMTG will also rely on other companies to maintain reliable network systems that provide adequate speed, data capacity and security to us and TMTG’s users. As the internet continues to experience growth in the number of users, frequency of use and amount of data transmitted, the internet infrastructure that TMTG and its users rely on may be unable to support the demands placed upon it. The failure of the internet infrastructure that TMTG’s users rely on, even for a short period of time, could undermine TMTG’s operations and harm TMTG’s operating results.
If TMTG fails to expand effectively in international markets, TMTG’s revenue and TMTG’s business will be harmed.
Notwithstanding Truth Social’s recent announcement of the general availability of Truth Social internationally, TMTG may not be able to monetize TMTG’s products and services internationally as a result of competition, advertiser demand, differences in the digital advertising market and digital advertising conventions, as well as differences in the way that users in different countries access or utilize TMTG’s products and services. Differences in the competitive landscape in international markets may impact TMTG’s ability to monetize TMTG’s products and services.
TMTG’s business is highly competitive. Competition presents an ongoing threat to the success of TMTG’s business. If TMTG is unable to compete effectively for users and advertiser spend, TMTG’s business and operating results could be harmed.
Competition for users of TMTG’s products and services is intense. Although TMTG has developed a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time, TMTG faces strong competition in its business. TMTG competes against many companies to attract and engage users, including companies which have greater financial resources and substantially larger user bases, such as X (formerly known as Twitter), Meta (including Facebook and Instagram), Alphabet/Google, Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Microsoft (including LinkedIn), and Yahoo!, which offer a variety of internet and mobile device-based products, services and content. For example, Facebook and X operate social networking sites with significantly more users than Truth Social may have in the future. Additionally, as a private company under new ownership, X may demonstrate a sustained commitment to free speech principles that will heighten competition for users who prioritize such principles.
TMTG believes that its ability to compete effectively for users depends upon many factors both within and beyond TMTG’s control, including:
the popularity, usefulness, ease of use, performance and reliability of TMTG’s products and services compared to those of TMTG’s competitors;
the amount, quality and timeliness of content generated by TMTG’s users;
the timing and market acceptance of TMTG’s products and services;
the reduced availability of data used by ad targeting and measurement tools;
government restrictions on access to TMTG products, or other actions that impair our ability to sell advertising, in their states or countries;
adverse litigation, government actions, or legislative, regulatory, or other legal developments relating to advertising, including developments that may impact our ability to deliver, target, or measure the effectiveness of advertising;
the adoption of TMTG’s products and services internationally;
TMTG’s ability, and the ability of TMTG’s competitors, to develop new products and services and enhancements to existing products and services;
the frequency and relative prominence of the ads displayed by TMTG’s competitors;
| • | TMTG’s ability to establish and maintain relationships with platform partners that integrate with Truth Social;
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changes mandated by, or that TMTG elects to make to address, legislation, regulatory authorities or litigation, including settlements and consent decrees, some of which may have a disproportionate effect on TMTG;
the application of antitrust laws both in the United States and internationally;
government action regulating competition;
TMTG’s ability to attract, retain and motivate talented employees, particularly engineers, designers and product managers;
TMTG’s ability to build, maintain, and scale technical infrastructure, and risks associated with disruptions in TMTG’s service, catastrophic events, cyber-attacks, and crises;
acquisitions or consolidation within TMTG’s industry, which may result in more formidable competitors; and
TMTG’s reputation and the brand strength relative to its competitors.
TMTG faces significant competition for advertiser spend. TMTG’s revenue has initially been generated through ads on Truth Social, and TMTG will compete against online and mobile businesses, including those referenced above, for advertising budgets. In order to grow TMTG’s revenue and improve TMTG’s operating results, TMTG may increase TMTG’s share of spending on advertising relative to TMTG’s competitors, many of which are larger companies that offer more traditional and widely accepted advertising products. In addition, some of TMTG’s larger competitors have substantially broader product or service offerings and user bases and leverage their relationships based on other products or services to gain additional share of advertising budgets.
TMTG believes that its ability to compete effectively for advertiser spend depends upon many factors both within and beyond TMTG’s control, including:
the size and composition of TMTG’s user base relative to those of TMTG’s competitors;
TMTG’s ad targeting capabilities, and those of TMTG’s competitors;
the timing and market acceptance of TMTG’s advertising services, and those of TMTG’s competitors;
the propensity of advertisers to support free speech-focused platforms like Truth Social;
TMTG’s marketing and selling efforts, and those of TMTG’s competitors;
the pricing for TMTG’s products relative to the advertising products and services of TMTG’s competitors;
the return TMTG’s advertisers receive from TMTG’s advertising services, and those of TMTG’s competitors;
TMTG’s reputation and the strength of TMTG’s brand relative to TMTG’s competitors;
the engagement of TMTG’s users with TMTG’s products;
TMTG’s ability to monetize Truth Social, including TMTG’s ability to successfully monetize mobile usage;
TMTG’s customer service and support efforts;
TMTG’s ability to establish and maintain developers’ interest in building Truth Social;
acquisitions or consolidations within TMTG’s industry, which may result in more formidable competitors; and
TMTG’s ability to cost-effectively manage and grow its operations.
In recent years, there have been significant acquisitions and consolidation by and among TMTG’s potential competitors. TMTG anticipates this trend of consolidation will continue, which will present heightened competitive challenges for TMTG’s business. Acquisitions by TMTG’s competitors may result in reduced functionality of Truth Social. Any elimination of integration with Truth Social in the future may adversely impact TMTG’s business and operating results.
Consolidation may also enable TMTG’s larger competitors to offer bundled or integrated products that feature alternatives to Truth Social. Reduced functionality of Truth Social, or TMTG’s competitors’ ability to offer bundled or integrated products that compete directly with TMTG, may cause TMTG’s user growth, user engagement and ad engagement to decline and advertisers to reduce their spending with TMTG. If TMTG is not able to compete effectively for users and advertiser spend its business and operating results would be materially and adversely affected.
Many of TMTG’s potential competitors have significantly greater resources and better competitive positions in certain markets than TMTG does. These factors may allow TMTG’s competitors to respond more effectively to new or emerging technologies and changes in market requirements. TMTG’s competitors may develop products, features, or services that are similar to TMTG’s or that achieve greater market acceptance, may undertake more far-reaching and successful product development efforts or marketing campaigns, or may adopt more aggressive pricing policies. In addition, platform partners may use information shared by TMTG’s users through Truth Social in order to develop products or features that compete with TMTG. If TMTG is not able to effectively compete, TMTG’s user base and level of user engagement may decrease, which could make TMTG less attractive to developers and advertisers and materially and adversely affect TMTG’s revenue and results of operations.
Truth Social exists to provide its users a true free speech platform and avoid cancellation or censorship by big tech. There is nothing preventing big tech from ceasing to cancel different voices. If that were to happen, the number of users on TMTG’s platform may decrease.
Action by governments to censor content on or restrict access to Truth Social in their countries could substantially harm TMTG’s business and financial results.
It is possible that governments of one or more countries may seek to censor content available on Truth Social in their country or impose other restrictions that may affect the accessibility of Truth Social in their country for an extended period of time or indefinitely. In addition, governments in other countries may seek to restrict access to Truth Social from their country entirely if they consider TMTG to be in violation of their laws. In the event that access to Truth Social is restricted, in whole or in part, in one or more countries or TMTG’s competitors are able to successfully penetrate geographic markets that TMTG cannot access, TMTG’s ability to retain or increase TMTG’s user base and user engagement may be adversely affected, TMTG may not be able to maintain or grow TMTG’s revenue as anticipated, and TMTG’s financial results could be adversely affected. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to TMTG’s Business — TMTG may be subject to greater risks than typical social media platforms because of the focus of its offerings and the involvement of President Trump. These risks include active discouragement of users, harassment of advertisers or content providers, increased risk of hacking of TMTG’s platform, lesser need for Truth Social if First Amendment speech is not suppressed, criticism of Truth Social for its moderation practices, and increased stockholder suits.”
TMTG’s new products, services and initiatives and changes to existing products, services and initiatives could fail to attract sufficient users and advertisers or generate revenue.
TMTG’s ability to increase the size and engagement of Truth Social’s user base, attract advertisers and generate revenue will depend in part on TMTG’s ability to create successful new products and services, both independently and in conjunction with third parties. TMTG may introduce significant changes to TMTG’s existing products and services or develop and introduce new and unproven products and services, including technologies with which TMTG has little or no prior development or operating experience. If new or enhanced products or services fail to engage users and advertisers, TMTG may fail to attract or retain users or to generate sufficient revenue or operating profit to justify TMTG’s investments, and TMTG’s business and operating results could be adversely affected. In the future, TMTG may invest in new products, services, and initiatives to generate revenue, but there is no guarantee these approaches will be successful. If TMTG’s strategic initiatives do not enhance TMTG’s ability to monetize TMTG’s products and services or enable it to develop new approaches to monetization, TMTG may not be able to maintain or grow TMTG’s revenue or recover any associated development costs and TMTG’s operating results could be adversely affected.
If TMTG’s efforts to build and maintain strong brand identity, improve the user base for Truth Social, and develop additional products are not successful, TMTG may not be able to attract or retain users, and TMTG’s operating results will be affected adversely. If events occur that damage TMTG’s reputation and brand, TMTG’s ability to expand TMTG’s base of users, developers and advertisers may be impaired, and TMTG’s business and financial results may be harmed.
TMTG believes that the Trump brand will significantly contribute to the success of TMTG’s business. TMTG also believes that maintaining and enhancing TMTG’s brand is critical to expanding its base of users, developers and advertisers. Maintaining and enhancing TMTG’s brand will depend largely on TMTG’s ability to continue to provide useful, reliable, trustworthy and innovative products, which TMTG may not do successfully. TMTG may introduce new products or terms of service that users do not like, which may negatively affect TMTG’s brand. Additionally, the actions of TMTG’s platform developers may affect TMTG’s brand if users do not have a positive experience using third-party apps and websites integrated with Truth Social. TMTG’s brand may also be negatively affected by the actions of users that are hostile towards President Trump or towards other people, by users impersonating other people, by users identified as spam, by users introducing excessive amounts of spam on TMTG’s platform, by third parties obtaining control over users’ accounts or by unauthorized access to TMTG’s data or TMTG’s users’ data. TMTG expects that in the future TMTG may experience media, judicial, legislative, or regulatory scrutiny of TMTG’s decisions regarding user privacy, data use, encryption, content, product design, algorithms, advertising, or other issues, which may adversely affect TMTG’s reputation and brand. TMTG also may fail to provide adequate customer service, which could erode confidence in TMTG’s platform. Maintaining and enhancing TMTG’s platform may require it to make substantial investments and these investments may not be successful. If TMTG fails to successfully promote and maintain its platform or if it incurs excessive expenses in this effort, TMTG’s business and financial results may be adversely affected.
TMTG may need additional capital, and TMTG cannot be sure that additional financing will be available.
Although TMTG currently anticipates that the proceeds from the Business Combination, together with TMTG’s available funds and cash flow from operations, are sufficient to meet TMTG’s cash needs for the foreseeable future, TMTG may eventually require additional financing. TMTG’s ability to obtain financing will depend, among other things, on TMTG’s development efforts, business plans, operating performance and condition of the capital markets at the time TMTG seeks financing. TMTG cannot assure you that additional financing will be available to it on favorable terms when required, or at all. If TMTG raises additional funds through the issuance of equity, equity-linked or debt securities, those securities may have rights, preferences, or privileges senior to the rights of TMTG Common Stock, and the existing stockholders may experience dilution.
Any significant disruption in service on Truth Social or in TMTG’s information systems could result in a loss of users or subscribers.
Potential users and subscribers will access Truth Social through TMTG’s website and related mobile applications, where the title selection process may be integrated with TMTG’s delivery processing systems and software. TMTG’s reputation and ability to attract, retain and serve TMTG’s subscribers is dependent upon the reliable performance of TMTG’s website and related apps, network infrastructure and fulfillment processes. Interruptions in these systems could make TMTG’s website unavailable and hinder TMTG’s ability to fulfill selections. Some of TMTG’s software is proprietary, and TMTG may rely on the expertise of members of TMTG’s engineering and software development teams for the continued performance of TMTG’s software and computer systems. Service interruptions or the unavailability of TMTG’s website could diminish the overall attractiveness of TMTG’s subscription service to existing and potential subscribers.
TMTG’s servers may be vulnerable to computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins and similar disruptions, which could lead to interruptions and delays in TMTG’s service and operations and loss, misuse or theft of data. TMTG’s website may periodically experience directed attacks intended to cause a disruption in service. Any attempts by hackers to disrupt TMTG’s website service or TMTG’s internal systems, if successful, could harm TMTG’s business, be expensive to remedy and damage TMTG’s reputation. Efforts to prevent hackers from entering TMTG’s computer systems may be expensive to implement and may limit the functionality of TMTG’s services. Any significant disruption to TMTG’s website or internal computer systems could result in a loss of subscribers and adversely affect TMTG’s business and results of operations.
TMTG’s industry is prone to cyber-attacks by third parties seeking unauthorized access to our data or users’ data or to disrupt our ability to provide service. TMTG’s products and services involve the collection, storage, processing, and transmission of a large amount of data. Any failure to prevent or mitigate security breaches and improper access to or disclosure of our data or user data, including personal information, content, or payment information from users, or information from marketers, could result in the loss, modification, disclosure, destruction, or other misuse of such data, which could harm our business and reputation and diminish TMTG’s competitive position. In addition, computer malware, viruses, social engineering (such as spear phishing attacks), scraping, and general hacking are prevalent in TMTG’s industry and are likely to occur on TMTG’s systems in the future. TMTG will also regularly encounter attempts to create false or undesirable user accounts, purchase ads, or take other actions on our platform for purposes such as spamming, spreading misinformation, or other illegal, illicit, or otherwise objectionable ends. As a result of our prominence, the prominence and involvement of President Trump, the size of TMTG’s user base, the types and volume of personal data and content on TMTG’s systems, and the evolving nature of TMTG’s products and services (including our efforts involving new and emerging technologies), TMTG believes that it is a particularly attractive target for such breaches and attacks, including from nation states and highly sophisticated, state-sponsored, or otherwise well-funded actors, and TMTG may experience heightened risk from time to time as a result of geopolitical events. TMTG’s efforts to address undesirable activity on our platform also increase the risk of retaliatory attacks. Such breaches and attacks may cause interruptions to the services TMTG provides, degrade the user experience, cause users or marketers to lose confidence and trust in TMTG products, impair TMTG’s internal systems, or result in financial harm to TMTG. TMTG’s efforts to protect its company data or the information it receives, and to disable undesirable activities on TMTG’s platform, may also be unsuccessful due to software bugs or other technical malfunctions; employee, contractor, or vendor error or malfeasance, including defects or vulnerabilities in TMTG’s vendors’ information technology systems or offerings; government surveillance; breaches of physical security of TMTG’s facilities or technical infrastructure; or other threats that evolve. In addition, third parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees or users to disclose information in order to gain access to our data or our users’ data. Cyber-attacks continue to evolve in sophistication and volume, and inherently may be difficult to detect for long periods of time. Although TMTG has developed systems and processes that are designed to protect its data and user data, to prevent data loss, to disable undesirable accounts and activities on our platform, and to prevent or detect security breaches, TMTG cannot guarantee that such measures will provide absolute security, that TMTG will be able to react in a timely manner, or that TMTG’s remediation efforts will be successful. The changes in TMTG’s work environment as a result of certain personnel working remotely could also impact the security of our systems, as well as our ability to protect against attacks and detect and respond to them quickly. Furthermore, TMTG believes that it is a particularly attractive target for cyber-attacks and security breaches because of the prominence and involvement of President Trump in TMTG.
TMTG’s communications hardware and the computer hardware used to operate TMTG’s website will initially be hosted at the facilities of a third-party provider. Hardware for TMTG’s delivery systems is intended to be maintained in TMTG’s distribution centers. Fires, floods, earthquakes, adverse weather conditions, other natural disasters, power losses, telecommunications failures, cyber-attacks, public health crises, terrorism, geopolitical conflict, break-ins, and similar events could damage these systems and hardware or cause them to fail completely. Problems faced by TMTG’s third-party web hosting provider, with the telecommunications network providers with whom it contracts or with the systems by which it allocates capacity among its subscribers, including us, could impact adversely the experience of TMTG’s subscribers. Any of these problems could result in a loss of subscribers.
Privacy concerns could limit TMTG’s ability to leverage Truth Social user data.
In the ordinary case of business, TMTG may collect and utilize data supplied by Truth Social. TMTG may face certain legal obligations regarding the manner in which TMTG treats such information. These legal obligations are complex and rapidly evolving, other businesses have been criticized by privacy groups and governmental bodies for attempts to link personal identities and other information to data collected on the internet regarding users’ browsing and other habits. Increased regulation of data utilization practices, including self-regulation, as well as increased enforcement of existing laws, could have an adverse effect on TMTG’s business.
Improper access to or disclosure of TMTG’s users’ information could harm TMTG’s reputation and adversely affect TMTG’s business.
TMTG’s efforts to protect the information that TMTG’s users have chosen to share using Truth Social may be unsuccessful due to the actions of third parties, software bugs or other technical malfunctions, employee error or malfeasance, or other factors. In addition, third parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees or users to disclose information in order to gain access to TMTG’s data or TMTG’s users’ data. If any of these events occur, TMTG’s users’ information could be accessed or disclosed improperly. Truth Social’s Data Privacy Policy governs the use of information that users have chosen to share using Truth Social. Some platform developers may store information provided by TMTG’s users through apps on the Truth Social platform or websites integrated with Truth Social. If these third parties or platform developers fail to adopt or adhere to adequate data security practices or fail to comply with TMTG’s terms and policies, or in the event of a breach of their networks, TMTG’s users’ data may be improperly accessed or disclosed. Any incidents involving unauthorized access to or improper use of the information of TMTG’s users could damage TMTG’s reputation and TMTG’s brand and diminish TMTG’s competitive position. In addition, the affected users or government authorities could initiate legal or regulatory action against TMTG in connection with such incidents, which could cause TMTG to incur significant expense and liability or result in orders or consent decrees forcing TMTG to modify its business practices. Any of these events could have a material and adverse effect on TMTG’s business, reputation or financial results.
Unfavorable media coverage could negatively affect TMTG’s business.
TMTG may receive a high degree of media coverage around the world, including regarding, without limitation, TMTG’s privacy practices, product changes, product quality, litigation or regulatory activity, or the actions of TMTG’s platform or developers or TMTG’s users. For example, numerous media outlets reported on the fact that, in June 2022, TMTG received subpoenas from the SEC and a federal grand jury sitting in the Southern District of New York seeking documents relating to, among other things, Digital World and other potential counterparties. In or about October 2022, a now-former TMTG Sub employee initiated a series of unauthorized leaks of Private TMTG’s confidential information to various media outlets, which resulted in the publication of numerous stories portraying Private TMTG and its management in a negative light. On May 20, 2023, Private TMTG filed a $3.8 billion defamation lawsuit against the Washington Post in connection with a May 13, 2023 article. On July 12, 2023, the Washington Post removed the case to federal court, where it remains pending as of December 11, 2023.
On November 20, 2023, in connection with reporting about Private TMTG’s financial results, Private TMTG filed a lawsuit for defamation and injurious falsehood in Florida state court against 20 media defendants. Private TMTG and one defendant — Nexstar Media, Inc. (“Nexstar”), which owns The Hill — subsequently agreed to resolve their dispute outside of court, to both parties’ mutual satisfaction. In connection with such resolution, The Hill retracted a November 13, 2023 article, and Private TMTG’s lawsuit was dismissed as to Nexstar on December 4, 2023. All other terms of TMTG’s settlement with Nexstar remain confidential, and TMTG’s lawsuit is proceeding against all other defendants.
Unfavorable and continued high-profile publicity could adversely affect TMTG’s reputation and its ability to transact with its third-party providers. Such negative publicity also could have an adverse effect on the size, engagement, and loyalty of TMTG’s user base and result in decreased revenue, which could adversely affect TMTG’s business and financial results. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to TMTG’s Business — President Donald J. Trump is the subject of numerous legal proceedings, the scope and scale of which are unprecedented for a former President of the United States and current candidate for that office. An adverse outcome in one or more of the ongoing legal proceedings in which President Trump is involved could negatively impact TMTG and its Truth Social platform.”
TMTG’s intellectual property may be infringed upon and others have and may continue to accuse TMTG of infringing on their intellectual property, either of which could adversely affect TMTG’s business and result in protracted and expensive litigation.
In recent years, there has been significant litigation in the United States over patents and other intellectual property rights. Although TMTG is not engaged in such litigation, in the future TMTG or customers who use TMTG’s products may be alleged to be infringing the trademarks, copyrights, patents and other intellectual property rights of third parties, including allegations made by TMTG’s competitors or by non-practicing entities. TMTG cannot predict whether assertions of third-party intellectual property rights or claims arising from these assertions will substantially harm TMTG’s business and operating results. If TMTG is forced to defend any infringement claims, whether they are with or without merit or are ultimately determined in TMTG’s favor, TMTG may face costly litigation and diversion of technical and management personnel. Some of TMTG’s competitors have substantially greater resources than TMTG does and are able to sustain the cost of complex intellectual property litigation to a greater extent and for longer periods of time than TMTG could. Furthermore, an adverse outcome of a dispute may require TMTG: to pay damages, potentially including treble damages, and attorneys’ fees, if TMTG is found to have willfully infringed a party’s patent or other intellectual property rights; to cease making, licensing or using products that are alleged to incorporate or make use of the intellectual property of others; to expend additional development resources to redesign TMTG’s products; to rebrand its services; and to enter into potentially unfavorable royalty or license agreements in order to obtain the rights to use necessary technologies and current branding. Royalty or licensing agreements, if required, may be unavailable on terms acceptable to TMTG, or at all. In any event, TMTG may need to license intellectual property which would require TMTG to pay royalties or make one-time payments. Even if these matters do not result in litigation or are resolved in TMTG’s favor or without significant cash settlements, the time and resources necessary to resolve them could harm TMTG’s business, operating results, financial condition and reputation.
The USPTO previously issued a non-final rejection of Private TMTG’s or its affiliate’s applications to register the trademarks “Truth Social” and “TRUTHSOCIAL” for use with a social media network based on its view that such use of these trademarks by Private TMTG would be likely to confuse consumers because of the similarity of these trademarks to existing registered and pending trademarks. On that basis, the owners of those registered trademarks may bring claims against TMTG alleging trademark infringement. If such claims were successful, TMTG may be forced to rebrand, to pay substantial monetary damages or to enter into a trademark license agreement on unfavorable terms.
In addition, if TMTG’s advertising customers do not own the copyright for advertising content included in their advertisements or if digital media property owners do not own the copyright for content to the digital media next to which the advertisements appear, advertisers and digital media properties could receive complaints from copyright owners, which could harm TMTG’s reputation and TMTG’s business.
As such, litigation diverts the time and resources of management, regardless of the merits of the claim. There can be no assurance that TMTG would prevail in any future litigation relating to TMTG’s licensing agreements. If TMTG were to lose such a case and be required to cease the sale of certain products or the use of certain technology or branding or were forced to pay monetary damages, the results could adversely affect TMTG’s business and reputation.
TMTG must comply with licenses related to the use of free, publicly-available software incorporated in Truth Social products; failure to do so could cause the loss of the ability to use such software which could in turn adversely affect TMTG’s revenues and results of operations.
In October 2021, Software Freedom Conservancy policy fellow Bradley M. Kuhn accused TMTG of violating the licensing agreement for the free, publicly available software platform, Mastodon. Although any entity can use the code from Mastodon, according to the licensing agreement (AGPLv3), each user of the software must receive “an opportunity to receive the entire Corresponding Source for the website based on that code.” Early users of Truth Social, Kuhn alleged, did not receive the source code.
On October 26, 2021, Mastodon sent a letter requesting that the Truth Social source code be made publicly available in compliance with the license. Private TMTG took action to resolve this issue by publishing its source code.
TMTG may face similar risks in the future, and failure to comply with such licenses could cause the loss of the ability to use such software, which could in turn adversely affect TMTG’s revenues and results of operations.
TMTG operates in new and evolving industries. TMTG may not be able to respond to changes in market conditions or to new or emerging technologies.
You should take into account the risks and uncertainties frequently encountered by new companies in rapidly evolving markets. TMTG’s financial results in any given quarter can be influenced by numerous factors, many of which TMTG is unable to predict or is outside of TMTG’s control, including:
TMTG’s ability to maintain and grow TMTG’s user base and user engagement;
TMTG’s ability to attract and retain advertisers in a particular period;
seasonal fluctuations in spending by TMTG’s advertisers;
the number of ads shown to users;
the pricing of TMTG’s ads and other products;
TMTG’s ability to increase payments and other fees revenue;
the diversification and growth of revenue sources beyond advertising and payments;
the development and introduction of new products or services by us or TMTG’s competitors;
| • | increases in marketing, sales, and other operating expenses that TMTG may incur to grow and expand TMTG’s operations and to remain competitive;
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TMTG’s ability to maintain gross margins and operating margins;
TMTG’s ability to obtain equipment and components for TMTG’s data centers and other technical infrastructure in a timely and cost-effective manner;
system failures or breaches of security or privacy;
inaccessibility of Truth Social due to third-party actions;
adverse litigation judgments, settlements, or other litigation-related costs;
changes in the legislative or regulatory environment, including with respect to privacy, or enforcement by government regulators, including fines, orders, or consent decrees;
fluctuations in currency exchange rates and changes in the proportion of TMTG’s revenue and expenses denominated in foreign currencies;
fluctuations in the market values of TMTG’s portfolio investments and in interest rates;
changes in U.S. GAAP; and
changes in business or macroeconomic conditions.
TMTG’s business is subject to complex and evolving U.S. and foreign laws and regulations regarding privacy, data protection, and other matters. Many of these laws and regulations are subject to change and uncertain interpretation, and could result in claims, changes to TMTG’s business practices, increased cost of operations, or declines in user growth or engagement, or otherwise harm TMTG’s business.
TMTG is subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the United States and abroad that involve matters central to TMTG’s business, including user privacy, rights of publicity, data protection, content, intellectual property, distribution, electronic contracts and other communications, competition, protection of minors, consumer protection, taxation, and online payment services. Foreign data protection, privacy, and other laws and regulations are often more restrictive than those in the United States. These U.S. federal and state and foreign laws and regulations are complex, constantly evolving and can be subject to significant and rapid change. In addition, the application and interpretation of these laws and regulations are often uncertain, particularly in the new and rapidly evolving industry in which TMTG operates. For example, the interpretation of some laws and regulations that govern the use of names and likenesses in connection with advertising and marketing activities is unsettled and developments in this area could affect the manner in which TMTG designs TMTG’s products, as well as TMTG’s terms of use. A number of proposals are pending before federal, state, and foreign legislative and regulatory bodies that could significantly affect TMTG’s business. Similarly, there have been a number of recent legislative proposals in the United States, at both the federal and state level, that would impose new obligations in areas such as privacy and liability for copyright infringement by third parties. These existing and proposed laws and regulations can be costly to comply with and can delay or impede the development of new products, result in negative publicity, increase TMTG’s operating costs, require significant management time and attention, and subject us to claims or other remedies, including fines or demands that TMTG modify or cease existing business practices.
For more information, see the section entitled “Risk Factors — Risks Related to TMTG’s Business — TMTG’s reputation, competitive advantage, financial position and relationships with its users could be materially harmed if TMTG is unable to comply with complex and evolving data protection and privacy, security, and breach notification laws and regulations, and the costs and resources required to achieve compliance may have a materially adverse impact.”
If TMTG’s security measures are breached, or if TMTG’s products and services are subject to attacks that degrade or deny the ability of users to access TMTG’s products and services, TMTG’s products and services may be perceived as not being secure, users and advertisers may curtail or stop using TMTG’s products and services and TMTG’s business and operating results could be harmed.
TMTG’s industry is prone to cyber-attacks by third parties seeking unauthorized access to TMTG’s data, TMTG’s users’ data, or TMTG’s advertisers’ data. In addition, computer malware, viruses, social engineering (such as spear phishing attacks), scraping, and general hacking continue to be prevalent in TMTG’s industry and are likely to occur on TMTG’s systems in the future. TMTG’s products and services involve the storage and transmission of users’ and advertisers’ information, and security breaches expose it to a risk of loss of this information, litigation and potential liability. TMTG may experience cyber-attacks and other cybersecurity risks of varying degrees on a regular basis, and as a result, unauthorized parties may obtain access to TMTG’s data or TMTG’s users’ or advertisers’ data. TMTG’s security measures may also be breached due to employee error, malfeasance or otherwise. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees, users or advertisers to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to TMTG’s data or TMTG’s users’ or advertisers’ data or accounts, or may otherwise obtain access to such data or accounts. Since TMTG’s users and advertisers may use their Truth Social accounts to establish and maintain online identities, unauthorized communications from Truth Social accounts that have been compromised may damage their reputations and brands as well as TMTG’s. Any such breach or unauthorized access could result in significant legal and financial exposure, damage to TMTG’s reputation and a loss of confidence in the security of TMTG’s products and services that could have an adverse effect on TMTG’s business and operating results. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable, or degrade service or sabotage systems change frequently and often are not recognized until launched against a target, TMTG may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. If an actual or perceived breach of TMTG’s security occurs, the market perception of the effectiveness of TMTG’s security measures could be harmed, TMTG could lose users and advertisers and TMTG may incur significant legal and financial exposure, including legal claims and regulatory fines and penalties. Any of these actions could have a material and adverse effect on TMTG’s business, reputation, and operating results.
TMTG may face lawsuits or incur liability as a result of content published on Truth Social.
TMTG may face claims relating to content that is published or made available through TMTG’s products and services or third-party products or services. In particular, the nature of TMTG’s business exposes it to claims related to defamation, intellectual property rights, rights of publicity and privacy, illegal content, content regulation and personal injury torts. The law relating to the liability of providers of online products or services for activities of their users remains somewhat unsettled, both within the United States and internationally. This risk may be enhanced in certain jurisdictions outside the United States where TMTG may be less protected under local laws than TMTG is in the United States. In addition, the public nature of communications on TMTG’s network exposes it to risks arising from the creation of impersonation accounts intended to be attributed to TMTG’s users or advertisers. TMTG could incur significant costs investigating and defending these claims. If TMTG incurs costs or liability as a result of these events occurring, TMTG’s business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to TMTG’s Business — TMTG may be subject to greater risks than typical social media platforms because of the focus of its offerings and the involvement of President Trump. These risks include active discouragement of users, harassment of advertisers or content providers, increased risk of hacking of TMTG’s platform, lesser need for Truth Social if First Amendment speech is not suppressed, criticism of Truth Social for its moderation practices, and increased stockholder suits.”
Many of TMTG’s products and services rely on, incorporate, and/or license open source software, which may pose particular risks to TMTG’s proprietary software, products, and services in a manner that could have a negative effect on TMTG’s business.
TMTG uses and plans to continue using open-source software in its products and services. For example, Truth Social was built using an AGPLv3 license (also referred to “copyleft” or a “viral license”). In addition, TMTG may contribute software source code to existing open-source projects, such as Mastodon, pursuant to applicable licenses or release internal software projects under open-source licenses and anticipate doing so in the future. The terms of many licenses to which TMTG is or is likely to become subject to have not been interpreted by U.S. or foreign courts, and there is a risk that open-source software licenses could be construed in a manner that imposes unanticipated conditions or restrictions on TMTG’s ability to provide or distribute TMTG’s products or services. Additionally, TMTG may from time-to-time face claims from third parties claiming ownership of, or demanding release of, the open-source software or derivative works that TMTG developed using such software (which could include TMTG’s proprietary source code), or otherwise seeking to enforce the terms of an applicable license in a manner adverse to TMTG’s interests. TMTG is proactively working to mitigate these risks by developing technical solutions to these potential challenges. However, this re-engineering process could require significant additional research and development resources, and TMTG may not be able to complete it successfully or at a reasonable cost. In addition to risks related to license requirements, use of certain open- source software can lead to greater risks than use of third-party commercial software, as open-source licensors generally do not provide warranties or controls on the origin of software. Additionally, because any software source code TMTG contributes to open-source projects is publicly available, TMTG’s ability to protect TMTG’s intellectual property rights with respect to such software source code may be limited or lost entirely, and TMTG is unable to prevent TMTG’s competitors or others from using such contributed software source code. Any of these risks could be difficult to eliminate or manage, and, if not addressed, could have a negative effect on TMTG’s business, financial condition, and operating results.
TMTG may rely in part on application marketplaces and internet search engines to drive traffic to TMTG’s products and services, and if TMTG fails to appear high up in the search results or rankings, traffic to Truth Social could decline and TMTG’s business and operating results could be adversely affected.
Although TMTG offers a web application for Truth Social, TMTG may rely on application marketplaces, such as Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play, to drive downloads of TMTG’s mobile application. In the future, Apple, Google, or other operators of application marketplaces may make changes to their marketplaces which make access to TMTG’s products and services more difficult or impossible. Additionally, third parties may attempt to pressure Apple and Google to remove Truth Social from their application marketplaces, and such removal may constitute a force majeure event under the operative version of the License, Likeness, Exclusivity and Restrictive Covenant Agreement that Private TMTG entered into with President Trump (the “License Agreement”), which allows TMTG to use “Trump Media & Technology Group Corp.” as its name and to use the name and likeness of President Trump, subject to certain limitations. Such a force majeure event may relieve President Trump of any obligation to post on or otherwise use Truth Social for so long as such event continues. See the section titled “Risk Factors — Risks Related to TMTG’s Business — TMTG may be subject to greater risks than typical social media platforms because of the focus of its offerings and the involvement of President Trump. These risks include active discouragement of users, harassment of advertisers or content providers, increased risk of hacking of TMTG’s platform, lesser need for Truth Social if First Amendment speech is no longer believed to be suppressed by other similar platforms, criticism of Truth Social for its moderation practices, and increased stockholder suits.”
TMTG may also depend in part on internet search engines, such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo!, to drive traffic to Truth Social. For example, when a user types an inquiry into a search engine, TMTG may rely on a high organic search result ranking of TMTG’s web pages in these search results to refer the user to Truth Social. However, TMTG’s ability to maintain high organic search result rankings is not within TMTG’s control. TMTG’s competitors’ search engine optimization (“SEO”) efforts may result in their websites receiving a higher search result page ranking than TMTG’s, or Internet search engines could revise their methodologies in a way that would adversely affect TMTG’s search result rankings. For example, Google has integrated its social networking offerings, including Google+, with certain of its products, including search, which could negatively impact the organic search ranking of TMTG’s web pages. If internet search engines modify their search algorithms in ways that are detrimental to us, or if TMTG’s competitors’ SEO efforts are more successful than TMTG’s, the growth in Truth Social’s user base could slow. TMTG anticipates fluctuations in search result rankings in the future. Any reduction in the number of users directed to TMTG’s mobile applications or website through application marketplaces and search engines could harm TMTG’s business and operating results.
More people are using devices other than personal computers to access the internet and new platforms to produce and consume content, and TMTG needs to promote the adoption of TMTG’s mobile applications, and TMTG’s business and operating results may be harmed if TMTG is unable to do so.
The number of people who access the internet through devices other than personal computers, including mobile phones, smartphones, handheld computers such as net books and tablets, video game consoles and television set-top devices, has increased dramatically in the past few years. There are 7.26 billion smart and feature phone users worldwide, including 6.65 billion smartphone users worldwide in 2022. Since TMTG may generate a majority of TMTG’s advertising revenue through users on mobile devices, TMTG must continue to drive adoption of TMTG’s mobile applications. In addition, mobile users frequently change or upgrade their mobile devices. TMTG’s business and operating results may be harmed if TMTG’s users do not install Truth Social application when they change or upgrade their mobile device. In addition, as new devices and platforms are continually being released, users may consume content in a manner that is more difficult to monetize. It is difficult to predict the problems TMTG may encounter in adapting TMTG’s products and services and developing competitive new products and services that are compatible with new devices or platforms. If TMTG is unable to develop products and services that are compatible with new devices and platforms, or if TMTG is unable to drive continued adoption of TMTG’s mobile applications, TMTG’s business and operating results may be harmed.
If TMTG fails to maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal controls over financial reporting, TMTG’s ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be impaired.
As a public company, TMTG is subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the listing standards of Nasdaq. TMTG expects that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase TMTG’s legal, accounting, and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time consuming and costly, and place significant strain on TMTG’s personnel, systems, and resources.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that TMTG maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. TMTG intends to develop and refine TMTG’s disclosure controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by TMTG in the reports that TMTG will file with the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms, and that information required to be disclosed in reports under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to TMTG’s principal executive and financial officers. TMTG intends to improve TMTG’s internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of TMTG’s disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, TMTG anticipates that TMTG will continue to expend significant resources, including accounting-related costs and significant management oversight.
TMTG’s controls may be inadequate because of changes in conditions in TMTG’s business. Further, weaknesses in TMTG’s disclosure controls or TMTG’s internal control over financial reporting may continued to be discovered in the future. Any failure to remediate, develop or maintain effective controls, or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement, could harm TMTG’s operating results or cause us to fail to meet TMTG’s reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of TMTG’s financial statements for prior periods. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting also could adversely affect the results of management evaluations and independent registered public accounting firm audits of TMTG’s internal control over financial reporting that TMTG will eventually be required to include in TMTG’s periodic reports that will be filed with the SEC. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in TMTG, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of TMTG’s common stock. In addition, if TMTG is unable to continue to meet these requirements, TMTG may not be able to remain listed on Nasdaq.
In connection with the preparation of its financial statements as of and for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, Digital World identified material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting, and TMTG may identify additional material weaknesses in its previously issued financial statements that, in the future, may cause TMTG to fail to meet its reporting obligations or result in material misstatements of its financial statements.
Digital World historically had limited accounting and financial reporting personnel and other resources with which to address its internal controls and procedures. In connection with the preparation of its financial statements as of and for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, Digital World's management identified a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting. A “material weakness” is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of an entity’s financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Digital World's management determined that there were errors related to the classification of income in the previously issued financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2022. In accordance with SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 99, “Materiality,” and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 108, “Considering the Effects of Prior Year Misstatements when Quantifying Misstatements in Current Year Financial Statements,” Digital World determined that the errors were material to its previously issued financial statements. Therefore, Digital World concluded that the previously issued financial statements should be restated.
The material weaknesses identified by Digital World's management related to material errors over its financial reporting, which required the restatement of its financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2022. Specifically, Digital World's management determined the material weaknesses related to a material error in classifying income from a licensing arrangement in 2021 as net sales from related parties rather than the proper classification as other income from related parties. Digital World's management determined that the restatement matters primarily related to its failure to design and maintain formal accounting policies, processes, and controls to analyze, account for and properly disclose income recordation as well as a need for additional accounting personnel who have the requisite experience in SEC reporting regulation.
TMTG is committed to remediating the material weaknesses described above and commencing remediation efforts during 2024. TMTG intends to initiate and implement several remediation measures including, but not limited to hiring additional accounting staff with the requisite background and knowledge, engaging third parties to assist in complying with the accounting and financial reporting requirements related to significant and complex transactions as well as adding personnel to assist TMTG with formalizing its business processes, accounting policies and internal control documentation, strengthening supervisory reviews by its management, and evaluating the effectiveness of its internal controls in accordance with the framework established by Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) published by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. While TMTG’s efforts are ongoing, TMTG plans to continue to take additional steps to remediate the material weaknesses, improve its financial reporting systems, and implement new policies, procedures, and controls; however, TMTG cannot guarantee those measures will prevent or detect material weaknesses in the future.
Although TMTG intends to pursue the remediation efforts mentioned above, all identified material weaknesses continue to exist as of the date of this Report and we cannot provide any assurance that TMTG, or its independent registered accounting firm, will not identify new material weaknesses in TMTG’s internal controls over financial reporting in the future. While we are undertaking efforts to remediate these material weaknesses, the material weaknesses will not be considered remediated until our remediation plan has been fully implemented, the applicable controls operate for a sufficient period of time, and we have concluded through testing, that the newly implemented and enhanced controls are designed and operating effectively. We are working to remediate the material weaknesses as efficiently and effectively as possible but expect that full remediation could potentially go beyond December 31, 2024. At this time, we cannot provide an estimate of costs expected to be incurred in connection with implementing this remediation plan; however, these remediation measures will be time consuming, incur significant costs, and place significant demands on our financial and operational resources.
If currency exchange rates fluctuate substantially in the future, TMTG’s operating results, which are reported in U.S. dollars, could be adversely affected.
Private TMTG recently announced the general availability of Truth Social internationally. As a result, TMTG may become more exposed to the effects of fluctuations in currency exchange rates. TMTG may incur expenses for employee compensation and other operating expenses at TMTG’s international locations in the local currency and accept payment from advertisers or data partners in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Since TMTG may conduct business in currencies other than U.S. dollars but report TMTG’s operating results in U.S. dollars, TMTG faces exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Consequently, exchange rate fluctuations between the U.S. dollar and other currencies could have a material impact on TMTG’s operating results.
TMTG’s business is subject to the risks of earthquakes, fire, power outages, floods, and other catastrophic events, and to interruption by man-made problems such as terrorism.
A significant natural disaster, such as an earthquake, fire, flood, cyber-attacks, terrorism, geopolitical conflict or significant power outage could have a material adverse impact on TMTG’s business, operating results, and financial condition. TMTG does not carry business interruption insurance sufficient to compensate us for the potentially significant losses, including the potential harm to TMTG’s business that may result from interruptions in TMTG’s ability to provide TMTG’s products and services.
If TMTG’s trademarks and other proprietary rights are not adequately protected to prevent use or appropriation by TMTG’s competitors, the value of TMTG’s brand and other intangible assets may be diminished, and TMTG’s business may be materially adversely affected. The USPTO has issued a non-final rejection of TMTG’s or its affiliate’s applications to register the trademarks “Truth Social” and “TRUTHSOCIAL” for use with a social media network because of alleged similarity to other registered and pending trademarks. If TMTG is unable to overcome the objections of the trademark examiner to successfully register the pending “Truth Social” and “TRUTHSOCIAL” trademarks with the USPTO and otherwise protect TMTG’s intellectual property, the value of TMTG’s brand and other intangible assets may be diminished, TMTG may be forced to rebrand its offerings, and TMTG’s business may be materially adversely affected.
TMTG intends to rely on a combination of confidentiality and license agreements with TMTG’s employees, consultants, and third parties with whom TMTG develops relationships, as well as trademark, copyright, patent, trade secret, and domain name protection laws, to protect TMTG’s proprietary rights. TMTG has filed various applications for protection of certain aspects of TMTG’s intellectual property. However, third parties may knowingly or unknowingly infringe TMTG’s proprietary rights, third parties may challenge any proprietary rights held by TMTG, and pending and future trademark and patent applications may not be approved.
On February 14, 2023, a trademark for “TRUTH SOCIAL” in classes 21 and 25 was registered with the USPTO by T Media Tech LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of TMTG Sub, for use with cups, mugs and certain types of clothing. Trademark applications for “Truth Social” in classes 9 and 42; for “RETRUTH” in classes 9, 35, 38, 41, 42, and 45; for “TRUTHSOCIAL” in classes 9, 35, 38, 41, 42, and 45; and for “TRUTHPLUS” in classes 9, 35, 38, 41, and 42 are the subject of suspension notices received from USPTO on October 24, 2022; January 13, 2023; February 14, 2023 and February 17, 2023, respectively, in each case based on alleged similarity to existing registered and pending trademarks. In particular, the USPTO has issued non-final rejections of all of the foregoing applications to register marks for use with a social media network or a streaming video service. Although TMTG has pursued certain appeal rights, there can be no assurance that TMTG will be able to overcome the objections of the trademark examiner or that the challenged marks will be approved. In addition, effective intellectual property protection may not be available in every country in which TMTG operates or intends to operate TMTG’s business, and TMTG is currently evaluating its options with respect to apparent bad faith registrations of the Truth Social trademark in the European Union and Sweden.
In any or all of these cases, TMTG may be required to expend significant time and expense in order to prevent infringement or to enforce TMTG’s rights. Although TMTG intends to take measures to protect TMTG’s proprietary rights, there can be no assurance that others will not offer products or concepts that are, or use branding that is, substantially similar to TMTG’s and compete with TMTG’s business. In addition, TMTG may contribute software source code under open source licenses and may make other technology developed by it available under other open licenses, and TMTG may include open source software in TMTG’s products. As a result of any future TMTG’s open source contributions and the use of open source in TMTG’s products, TMTG may license or be required to license innovations that turn out to be material to TMTG’s business and may also be exposed to increased litigation risk. If the protection of TMTG’s proprietary rights is inadequate to prevent unauthorized use or appropriation by third parties, the value of TMTG’s brand and other intangible assets may be diminished and competitors may be able to more effectively mimic TMTG’s branding, service and methods of operations. Any of these events could have an adverse effect on TMTG’s business and financial results.
Trademark, copyright, patent, and other intellectual property rights are important to TMTG and other companies. TMTG’s intellectual property rights extend to TMTG’s technology, business processes and the content on TMTG’s website. TMTG intends to use the intellectual property of third parties in merchandising TMTG’s products and marketing TMTG’s service through contractual and other rights. If there is any claim against TMTG for infringement, misappropriation, misuse or other violation of third party intellectual property rights, and TMTG is unable to obtain sufficient rights or develop non-infringing intellectual property or otherwise alter TMTG’s business practices, as appropriate, on a timely basis, TMTG’s business and competitive position may be affected adversely. Many companies are devoting significant resources to developing patents that could potentially affect many aspects of TMTG’s business. There are numerous patents that broadly claim means and methods of conducting business on the internet. TMTG has not exhaustively searched patents relative to TMTG’s technology. TMTG may be accused of infringing certain of these patents. In addition, other parties may assert infringement or unfair competition, or other intellectual property claims against TMTG that could relate to any aspect of TMTG’s technology, business processes, branding, merchandizing, and marketing activities or TMTG’s intellectual property rights. TMTG cannot predict whether third parties will assert claims of infringement against it, the subject matter of any of these claims or whether these assertions or prosecutions will adversely affect TMTG’s business. If TMTG is forced to defend itself against any of these claims, whether they are with or without merit or are determined in TMTG’s favor, TMTG may face costly litigation, diversion of technical and management personnel, inability to use TMTG’s current branding or website technology or inability to market TMTG’s service or merchandise TMTG’s products. As a result of a dispute, TMTG may have to develop non-infringing technology, rebrand, enter into royalty or licensing agreements, adjust TMTG’smerchandizing or marketing activities or take other action to resolve the claims. These actions, if required, may be unavailable on terms acceptable to TMTG, costly or unavailable.
If TMTG is unable to protect TMTG’s domain names, TMTG’s reputation and brand could be affected adversely.
TMTG may hold various domain names relating to TMTG’s brand, including TMTGcorp.com and Truthsocial.com. Failure to protect TMTG’s domain names could affect adversely TMTG’s reputation and brand and make it more difficult for users to find TMTG’s website and TMTG’s service. The acquisition and maintenance of domain names generally are regulated by governmental agencies and their designees. The regulation of domain names in the United States may change in the near future. Governing bodies may establish additional top-level domains, appoint additional domain name registrars, or modify the requirements for holding domain names. As a result, TMTG may be unable to acquire or maintain relevant domain names. Furthermore, the relationship between regulations governing domain names and laws protecting trademarks and similar proprietary rights is unclear. TMTG may be unable to prevent third parties from acquiring domain names that are similar to, infringe upon, or otherwise decrease the value of TMTG’s trademarks and other proprietary rights.
In the future, TMTG may be involved in numerous class action lawsuits and lawsuits and disputes that are expensive and time consuming, and, if resolved adversely, could harm TMTG’s business, financial condition or results of operations.
In addition to intellectual property and licensing claims, TMTG may also be involved in numerous other lawsuits, many of which typically include claims for statutory damages, including putative class action lawsuits brought by users and claims brought by contractual counterparties such as vendors, current or former employees, convertible noteholders or advertising partners, many of which claim statutory damages. Recent putative class action complaints against other companies in TMTG’s industry have included claims for violations of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1030, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030, The California Invasion of Privacy Act, Cal. Penal Code § 631, the California Unfair Competition Law, Business and Professions Code §§ 17200, et seq., the New York General Business Law §§ 349, et seq., and tort claims for negligence, invasion of privacy, intrusion upon seclusion, larceny/receipt of stolen property, conversion, and unjust enrichment. In fact, TMTG anticipates that TMTG will continue to be a target for numerous lawsuits in the future, and that prospective or actual litigation involving TMTG may generate significant negative attention. If TMTG is able to build an expansive user base, the plaintiffs in class action cases filed against TMTG typically will claim enormous monetary damages even if the alleged per-user harm is small or non-existent. Any litigation to which TMTG may in the future be a party may result in an onerous or unfavorable judgment that may not be reversed upon appeal, or TMTG may decide to settle lawsuits on similarly unfavorable terms. Any such negative outcome could result in payments of substantial monetary damages or fines, or changes to TMTG’s products or business practices, and accordingly TMTG’s business, financial condition, or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. However, defending any future claims may be costly and can impose a significant burden on management and employees, and TMTG may receive unfavorable preliminary or interim rulings in the course of litigation, which could adversely affect the market price of TMTG Common Stock. There can be no assurances that a favorable final outcome will be obtained in any cases in the future.
President Trump has significant influence over key decision making as a result of his control of a significant portion of TMTG’s voting stock.
President Trump beneficially owns approximately 57.6% of the voting power of the outstanding TMTG Common Stock. As a result, President Trump has the ability to significantly influence the outcome of matters submitted to TMTG’s stockholders for approval, including the election of directors and any merger, consolidation, or sale of all or substantially all of the TMTG’s assets. In the event that President Trump controls the TMTG Board at the time of his death, control may be transferred to a person or entity that he designates as his successor. As a board member, President Trump will owe a fiduciary duty to TMTG’s stockholders and must act in good faith in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of TMTG’s stockholders. As a stockholder, even a controlling stockholder, President Trump is entitled to vote his shares in his own interests, which may not always be in the interests of TMTG’s stockholders generally.
TMTG cannot be certain that additional financing will be available on reasonable terms when required, or at all.
From time to time, TMTG may need additional financing. TMTG’s ability to obtain additional financing, if and when required, will depend on investor demand, TMTG’s operating performance, the condition of the capital markets, and other factors. If TMTG raises additional funds through the issuance of equity, equity-linked or debt securities, those securities may have rights, preferences, or privileges senior to the rights of the TMTG Common Stock and TMTG’s existing stockholders may experience dilution. Certain financial-industry service providers have expressed, or may be reasonably expected to express, an unwillingness or reluctance to work on TMTG’s products or provide services due to TMTG’s connection with President Trump. Similarly, to the extent TMTG needs to raise additional capital, TMTG will need to engage with investment bankers and investors and it is possible that some will not want to engage with TMTG for similar reasons. Hostility from financial institutions could adversely affect TMTG’s ability to obtain banking services, including additional financing on reasonable terms when required, or at all, which could adversely affect TMTG’s business and financial results.
TMTG’s costs may grow more quickly than TMTG’s revenue, harming TMTG’s business and profitability.
TMTG expects its expenses to continue to increase in the future as it broadens its user base, as users increase the number of connections and amount of data they share with us, as TMTG develops and implements new product features that require more computing infrastructure, and as TMTG hires additional employees. TMTG expects to incur increasing costs, in particular for servers, storage, power, and data centers, to support TMTG’s anticipated future growth. TMTG expects to continue to invest in TMTG’s infrastructure in order to provide TMTG’s products rapidly and reliably to all users around the world, including in countries where TMTG does not expect significant short-term monetization. TMTG’s expenses may be greater than TMTG anticipates, and TMTG’s investments to make TMTG’s business and TMTG’s technical infrastructure more efficient may not be successful. In addition, TMTG may increase marketing, sales, and other operating expenses in order to grow and expand TMTG’s operations and to remain competitive. Increases in TMTG’s costs may adversely affect TMTG’s business and profitability.
TMTG’s business is dependent on its ability to maintain and scale TMTG’s technical infrastructure, and any significant disruption in TMTG’s service could damage TMTG’s reputation, result in a potential loss of users and engagement, and adversely affect TMTG’s financial results.
TMTG’s reputation and ability to attract, retain and serve TMTG’s users is dependent upon the reliable performance of Truth Social and TMTG’s underlying technical infrastructure. TMTG’s systems may not be adequately designed with the necessary reliability and redundancy to avoid performance delays or outages or service disruptions that could be harmful to TMTG’s business. If Truth Social is unavailable when users attempt to access it, or if it does not load as quickly as they expect, users may not return to TMTG’s website as often inthe future, or at all. As TMTG’s user base and the amount and types of information shared on Truth Social continue to grow, TMTG will need an increasing amount of technical infrastructure, including network capacity, and computing power, to continue to satisfy the needs of TMTG’s users. It is possible that TMTG may fail to effectively scale and grow TMTG’s technical infrastructure to accommodate these increased demands. In addition, as stated above, TMTG’s business is subject to interruptions, delays, or failures resulting from earthquakes, other natural disasters, terrorism, or other catastrophic events.
A substantial portion of TMTG’s network infrastructure will be provided by third parties. Any disruption or failure in the services TMTG receives from these providers could harm TMTG’s ability to handle new or increased traffic and could significantly harm TMTG’s business. Any financial or other difficulties these providers face may adversely affect TMTG’s business, and TMTG exercise little control over these providers, which increases TMTG’s vulnerability to problems with the services they provide.
TMTG’s software is highly technical, and if it contains undetected errors, TMTG’s business could be adversely affected. TMTG’s business and operating results may be harmed by a disruption in TMTG’s service, or by TMTG’s failure to timely and effectively scale and adapt TMTG’s existing technology and infrastructure.
One of the reasons people will come to Truth Social is for real-time information. TMTG in the future may experience service disruptions, outages, and other performance problems due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human or software errors, hardware failure, capacity constraints due to an overwhelming number of people accessing TMTG’s products and services simultaneously, computer viruses and denial of service or fraud or security attacks. Although TMTG will invest significantly to improve the capacity, capability, and reliability of TMTG’s infrastructure, TMTG cannot guarantee that TMTG will serve all traffic equally through data centers that support TMTG’s platform. Accordingly, in the event of a significant issue at a data center supporting significant network traffic, some of TMTG’s products and services may become inaccessible to the public or the public may experience difficulties accessing TMTG’s products and services. Any disruption or failure in TMTG’s infrastructure could hinder TMTG’s ability to handle existing or increased traffic on TMTG’s platform, which could significantly harm TMTG’s business.
As the number of TMTG’s users increases and TMTG’s users generate more content, including photos and videos hosted by Truth Social, TMTG may be required to expand and adapt TMTG’s technology and infrastructure to continue to reliably store, serve and analyze this content. It may become increasingly difficult to maintain and improve the performance of TMTG’s products and services, especially during peak usage times, as TMTG’s products and services become more complex and TMTG’s user traffic increases. In addition, because TMTG may lease TMTG’s data center facilities, TMTG cannot be assured that TMTG will be able to expand TMTG’s data center infrastructure to meet user demand in a timely manner, or on favorable economic terms. If TMTG users are unable to access Truth Social or TMTG is not able to make information available rapidly on Truth Social, users may seek other channels to obtain the information, and may not return to Truth Social or use Truth Social as often in the future, or at all. This would negatively impact TMTG’s ability to attract users and advertisers and increase engagement of TMTG’s users. TMTG expects to continue to make significant investments to maintain and improve the capacity, capability, and reliability of TMTG’s infrastructure. To the extent that TMTG does not effectively address capacity constraints, upgrade TMTG’s systems as needed and continually develop TMTG’s technology and infrastructure to accommodate actual and anticipated changes in technology, TMTG’s business and operating results may be harmed.
TMTG’s products may incorporate software that is highly technical and complex. TMTG’s software may now or in the future contain, undetected errors, bugs, or vulnerabilities. Some errors in TMTG’s software code may only be discovered after the code has been released. Any errors, bugs, or vulnerabilities discovered in TMTG’s code after release could result in damage to TMTG’s reputation, loss of users, loss of revenue, or liability for damages, any of which could adversely affect TMTG’s business and financial results.
TMTG cannot assure you that TMTG will effectively manage its growth. If TMTG fails to effectively manage its growth, TMTG’s business and operating results could be harmed.
TMTG may experience rapid growth in TMTG’s headcount and operations, which will place significant demands on TMTG’s management and operational and financial infrastructure. TMTG intends to make substantial investments to expand TMTG’s operations, research and development, sales and marketing and general and administrative organizations, as well as TMTG’s international operations. TMTG may face significant competition for employees, particularly engineers, designers and product managers, from other internet and high-growth companies, which include both publicly-traded and privately-held companies, and TMTG may not be able to hire new employees quickly enough to meet TMTG’s needs. To attract highly skilled personnel, TMTG believes it will need to offer highly competitive compensation packages. As TMTG continues to grow, TMTG may be subject to the risks of over-hiring, over-compensating TMTG’s employees and over- expanding TMTG’s operating infrastructure, and to the challenges of integrating, developing, and motivating a rapidly growing employee base in various countries around the world. In addition, TMTG may not be able to innovate or execute as quickly as a smaller, more efficient organization. If TMTG fails to effectively manage TMTG’s hiring needs and successfully integrate TMTG’s new hires, TMTG’s efficiency and ability to meet TMTG’s forecasts and TMTG’s employee morale, productivity and retention could suffer, and TMTG’s business and operating results could be adversely affected.
The growth and expansion of TMTG’s business and products create significant challenges for TMTG’s management, operational, and financial resources, including managing multiple relations with users, advertisers, platform developers, and other third parties. In the event of continued growth of TMTG’s operations or in the number of TMTG’s third-party relationships, TMTG’s information technology systems or TMTG’s internal controls and procedures may not be adequate to support TMTG’s operations. In addition, some members of TMTG’s management do not have significant experience managing a large global business operation, so TMTG’s management may not be able to manage such growth effectively. To effectively manage TMTG’s growth, TMTG must continue to improve TMTG’s operational, financial, and management processes and systems and to effectively expand, train, and manage TMTG’s employee base. As TMTG’s organization continues to grow, and TMTG is required to implement more complex organizational management structures, TMTG may find it increasingly difficult to maintain the benefits of TMTG’s corporate culture, including TMTG’s ability to quickly develop and launch new and innovative products. This could negatively affect TMTG’s business performance.
Computer malware, viruses, hacking, and phishing attacks, and spamming could harm TMTG’s business and results of operations. Spam could diminish the user experience on TMTG’s platform, which could damage TMTG’s reputation and deter TMTG’s current and potential users from using TMTG’s products and services.
Computer malware, viruses, hacking, and phishing attacks have become more prevalent in TMTG’s industry and may occur on TMTG’s systems in the future. Because of TMTG’s prominence, and the prominence and involvement of President Trump in TMTG, TMTG believes that TMTG is a particularly attractive target for such attacks. Though it is difficult to determine what, if any, harm may directly result from any specific interruption or attack, any failure to maintain performance, reliability, security, and availability of TMTG’s products and technical infrastructure to the satisfaction of TMTG’s users may harm TMTG’s reputation and TMTG’s ability to retain existing users and attract new users.
“Spam” on Truth Social refers to a range of abusive activities that are prohibited by TMTG’s terms of service and is generally defined as unsolicited, repeated actions that negatively impact other users with the general goal of drawing user attention to a given account, site, product or idea. This includes posting large numbers of unsolicited mentions of a user, duplicating content, misleading links (e.g., to malware or click- jacking pages) or other false or misleading content, and aggressively following and un-following accounts, adding users to lists, sending invitations, retruthing and favoriting content to inappropriately attract attention. TMTG’s terms of service also prohibit the creation of serial or bulk accounts, using automation, for disruptive or abusive purposes, such as to truth spam or to artificially inflate the popularity of users seeking to promote themselves on Truth Social. Although TMTG will continue to invest resources to reduce spam on Truth Social, TMTG expects spammers will continue to seek ways to act inappropriately on TMTG’s platform. In addition, TMTG expects that increases in the number of users on TMTG’s platform will result in increased efforts by spammers to misuse TMTG’s platform. TMTG cannot guarantee you that TMTG will successfully and continuously combat spam, including by suspending or terminating accounts TMTG believes to be spammers and launching algorithmic changes focused on curbing abusive activities. TMTG’s actions to combat spam require the diversion of significant time and focus of TMTG’s engineering team from improving TMTG’s products and services. If spam increases on Truth Social, this could hurt TMTG’s reputation for delivering relevant content or reduce user growth and user engagement and result in continuing operational cost to us.
In addition, spammers attempt to use TMTG’s products to send targeted and untargeted spam messages to users, which may embarrass or annoy users and make Truth Social less user-friendly. TMTG cannot be certain that the technologies and employees tasked with defeating spamming attacks will be able to eliminate all spam messages from being sent on TMTG’s platform. As a result of spamming activities, TMTG’s users may use Truth Social less or stop using TMTG’s products altogether.
Misleading solicitations and digital advertisements, including solicitations that are unaffiliated with TMTG, could harm TMTG’s credibility or reputation.
Third-party Truth Social advertisers may seek to express or imply the endorsement of TMTG or President Trump in circumstances where no such endorsement exists. People may solicit customers to Truth Social, or purport to solicit customers to Truth Social, without TMTG’s knowledge and may even get paid in the process. The fundraising committee of a U.S. Senator’s campaign has sent several email solicitations which claim to be an exclusive opportunity to sign up for a “brand-new social site” launched by President Trump. The email solicitations specifically urge their recipients to join Truth Social with the message, “please don’t be the reason Trump’s social site fails.” Misleading solicitations could adversely impact TMTG’s user base, which may find them undesirable. It is possible that there are or will be more misleading advertisements or solicitations claiming affiliation with TMTG. If these misleading solicitations and ads damage the reputation of TMTG or the desire of people to use Truth Social, TMTG’s results of operations may be adversely affected.
Bot networks could disrupt Truth Social’s operations or degrade the Truth Social’s user experience.
Bots—software applications that are programmed to do certain tasks and imitate the behavior of humans— often attempt to proliferate on social media networks. TMTG prioritizes preventing, detecting, and eliminating bots from Truth Social. If these efforts are unsuccessful, bots could pose significant challenges to the smooth technical operation of the platform, impact the accuracy of certain data that TMTG may collect regarding user statistics, or degrade Truth Social’s user experience, which seeks to promote genuine interaction among humans.
TMTG plans to expand its operations abroad where TMTG has limited operating experience and may be subject to increased business and economic risks that could affect TMTG’s financial results.
TMTG plans to continue expanding TMTG’s business operations by offering TMTG’s products around the globe. TMTG has recently entered new international markets where TMTG has limited or no experience in marketing, selling, and deploying TMTG’s products. If TMTG fails to deploy or manage its operations in international markets successfully, its business may suffer. In addition, TMTG is subject to a variety of risks inherent in doing business internationally, including:
political, social, or economic instability;
risks related to the legal and regulatory environment in foreign jurisdictions, including with respect to privacy, and unexpected changes in laws, regulatory requirements, and enforcement;
potential damage to TMTG’s brand and reputation due to compliance with local laws, including potential censorship or requirements to provide user information to local authorities;
fluctuations in currency exchange rates;
higher levels of credit risk and payment fraud;
enhanced difficulties of integrating any foreign acquisitions;
burdens of complying with a variety of foreign laws;
reduced protection for intellectual property rights in some countries;
difficulties in staffing and managing global operations and the increased travel, infrastructure, and legal compliance costs associated with multiple international locations;
compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act, and similar laws in other jurisdictions; and
compliance with statutory equity requirements and management of tax consequences.
If TMTG is unable to manage the complexity of its global operations successfully, its financial results could be adversely affected.
TMTG plans to make acquisitions that could require significant management attention, disrupt its business, result in dilution to its stockholders, and adversely affect its financial results.
As part of its business strategy, TMTG intends to make acquisitions to add specialized employees, complementary companies, products, or technologies. However, TMTG has not made any such strategic acquisitions to date. As a result, its ability to successfully acquire and integrate larger or more significant companies, products, or technologies is unproven. In the future, TMTG may not be able to find other suitable acquisition candidates, and TMTG may not be able to complete acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all. TMTG’s future acquisitions may not achieve its goals, and any future acquisitions that TMTG completes could be viewed negatively by users, developers, advertisers, or investors. In addition, if TMTG fails to successfully integrate any acquisitions, or the technologies associated with such acquisitions, into Truth Social, or any future product offerings, the revenue and operating results of TMTG could be adversely affected. Any integration process may require significant time and resources, and TMTG may not be able to manage the process successfully. TMTG may not successfully evaluate or utilize the acquired technology or personnel, or accurately forecast the financial impact of an acquisition transaction, including accounting charges. TMTG may have to pay cash, incur debt, or issue equity securities to pay for any such acquisition, any of which could adversely affect TMTG’s financial results. The sale of equity or issuance of debt to finance any such acquisitions could result in dilution to TMTG’s stockholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased fixed obligations and could also include covenants or other restrictions that would impede TMTG’s ability to manage TMTG’s operations.
TMTG may be subject to greater risks than typical social media platforms because of the focus of its offerings and the involvement of President Trump. These risks include active discouragement of users, harassment of advertisers or content providers, increased risk of hacking of TMTG’s platform, lesser need for Truth Social if First Amendment speech is no longer believed to be suppressed by other similar platforms, criticism of Truth Social for its moderation practices, and increased stockholder suits.
TMTG is aware that big tech platforms, such as YouTube, “de-monetize” certain content because they disagree with its message. There have been numerous calls to ban or encourage advertisers to boycott content providers who express or permit views contrary to the prevailing narrative. It is likely that these same people calling for boycotts will seek to do the same for companies that may advertise on Truth Social. To the extent these calls are successful, or the mere threat of them sufficient, to prevent advertisers from appearing on TMTG’s platform, TMTG may not generate the revenues TMTG anticipates and the price of TMTG’s stock could decline as a result.
To foster a flourishing digital public forum, TMTG seeks to prevent illegal and other prohibited content from contaminating its platform. In accordance with Truth Social’s terms of service, illegal and prohibited content includes, but is not limited to, depictions or threats of violence, harassment, incitement of or threats of physical harm. Using human moderators and an artificial intelligence vendor known as HIVE, Truth Social has developed what TMTG believes is a robust, fair, and viewpoint-neutral moderation system and that its moderation practices are consistent with, and indeed help facilitate, TMTG’s objective of maintaining “a public, real-time platform where any user can create content, follow other users, and engage in an open and honest global conversation without fear of being censored or cancelled due to their political viewpoints.” However, there is a risk that TMTG’s moderation practices will be criticized as inconsistent with its promotion of free-speech principles or may result in inadvertent violations of Truth Social’s terms of use as Truth Social’s user base increases and becomes increasingly more challenging to moderate adherence to such terms. To the extent that TMTG is unable to prevent illegal or other prohibited content from appearing on the Truth Social platform, users and/or advertisers may find the Truth Social platform less appealing, which could have an adverse effect on TMTG’s ability to attract grow its advertisers and user base, negatively impacting TMTG’s revenues and jeopardizing Truth Social’s access to the Apple and Google Play stores, the latter of which delayed its initial approval of the app due to alleged violations of Google’s content-moderation policies.
In July 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty issued a preliminary injunction barring numerous federal officials and agencies — including Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and all employees of the Justice Department and FBI — from having any contact with social media firms for the purpose of discouraging or removing First Amendment-protected speech. The judge’s decision cites a wide range of topics that he found “were suppressed” on social media at the urging of administration officials, including opposition to COVID-19 vaccines, masking, lockdowns and the lab-leak theory; opposition to President Biden’s and other officials’ policies; and the statements supporting the authenticity of the contents of a laptop abandoned by President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, at a Delaware computer shop. (On October 20, 2023, the United States Supreme Court stayed Judge Doughty’s injunction, as modified by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, pending a forthcoming Supreme Court ruling in this matter.) To the extent that Judge Doughty’s opinion signals increasing judicial enforcement of free speech rights against big tech tyrants otherwise inclined to suppress them, such enforcement could reduce Truth Social’s comparative advantage. All social media sites are subject to risks of hackers or people who try to disrupt their operations and post false or malicious information or make it seem as if innocent third persons are posting such information. Such people may also try to steal personal information about TMTG’s users. TMTG believes it will be subject to greater risks in this regard than other social media companies currently are. Accordingly, TMTG will have to spend more money to build more robust security to protect against these attacks. There can be no assurance that these efforts will be successful. Any increase of expenditures to protect against attacks will increase TMTG’s expense and thus, decrease its ability to achieve and remain profitable. In the event these attacks are successful, TMTG will have to devote resources to correct problems as well as possibly pay damages to its users for losses they suffer.
TMTG is a Delaware corporation which allows TMTG’s stockholders certain rights under Delaware law to information and to make inquiries of the TMTG Board. It is possible that people will invest in TMTG’s common stock simply with the intention to see such information and disrupt TMTG’s management and board’s attention on TMTG’s business. The costs of these matters will increase TMTG’s expenses and thus decrease TMTG’s ability to achieve profitability and remain profitable.
TMTG depends on numerous third-parties to operate successfully, and many of these third parties may not want to engage with TMTG to provide any services. This may limit TMTG’s ability to operate, raise capital, or generate revenue.
To operate successfully, TMTG relies on third parties to provide services such as web hosting, content monitoring and technology development. TMTG also partners with third parties to provide various non-technical business services, and generates revenue from third-party advertisers who place advertisements on Truth Social via TMTG’s advertising partners. To date, several potential third-party partners have expressed an unwillingness or reluctance to work on TMTG’s products or provide services for reasons including TMTG’s connection with President Trump. To the extent TMTG needs to raise additional capital or generate additional advertising revenue, TMTG will need to engage with investment bankers, investors, or prospective advertisers, and it is possible that some third parties will refuse to engage with TMTG. For example, it was widely reported that at least one of the initial investors of Digital World sold their stock rather than invest in a company associated with President Trump. If TMTG is unable to successfully engage third parties, TMTG’s ability to develop and improve its products, raise additional capital, or generate advertising revenue will be limited. Additionally, if current technical or non-technical service providers discontinue an existing relationship with TMTG, such discontinuity could disrupt or cause inconvenience to TMTG’s business operations until replacement service providers are identified and engaged.
Risks Related to President Donald J. Trump
TMTG’s success depends in part on the popularity of its brand and the reputation and popularity of President Donald J. Trump. The value of TMTG’s brand may diminish if the popularity of President Trump were to suffer. Adverse reactions to publicity relating to President Trump, or the loss of his services, could adversely affect TMTG’s revenues, results of operations and its ability to maintain or generate a consumer base.
While TMTG believes there is sufficient demand for a true free speech platform, the image, reputation, popularity and talent of President Trump will be important factors to its success. According to The Hill-HarrisX polls, only one-third of voters surveyed said they would use a social media site associated with President Trump. In addition, according to a survey published in The New York Post, only 61% of Republicans would use the Truth Social platform “a lot” or “some” of the time. In order to be successful, TMTG will need millions of those people to register and regularly use TMTG’s platform. If President Trump becomes less popular or there are new controversies that damage his credibility or the desire of people to use a platform associated with him, and from which he will derive financial benefit, TMTG’s results of operations could be adversely affected.
The death, incarceration, or incapacity of President Trump, or discontinuation or limitation of his relationship with TMTG, may negatively impact TMTG’s business.
TMTG is highly dependent on the popularity and presence of President Trump, its largest stockholder. President Trump has a significant influence on TMTG’s business plan. TMTG believes President Trump’s reputation and relationships are a critical element to the success of TMTG’s business. TMTG’s future success will depend, to a significant extent, upon the continued presence and popularity of President Trump. If President Trump were to discontinue his relationship with TMTG due to death, disability, criminal conviction, incarceration, or any other reason, or limit his involvement with TMTG due to his ongoing candidacy for political office, TMTG would be significantly disadvantaged.
President Donald J. Trump is the subject of numerous legal proceedings, the scope and scale of which are unprecedented for a former President of the United States and current candidate for that office. An adverse outcome in one or more of the ongoing legal proceedings in which President Donald J. Trump is involved could negatively impact TMTG and its Truth Social platform.
On September 21, 2022, the Attorney General of the State of New York—who pledged to pursue President Trump even before taking office—launched a civil suit against President Trump and affiliated individuals and entities. Included among these affiliated entities was The Trump Organization. Donald J. Trump, Jr., who is a TMTG director, is the Executive Vice President of The Trump Organization.
The suit alleged business fraud relating to misrepresentations in the preparation of President Trump’s annual statements of financial condition in the years 2011 through 2021. President Trump had previously been held in civil contempt in April 2022 for failing to comply with a subpoena for documents during the course of the New York Attorney General’s investigation related to these charges. In June 2023, a New York appeals court narrowed the fraud case, the trial for which commenced in October 2023 and closing oral arguments were concluded on January 11, 2024.
On March 30, 2023, the Manhattan District Attorney indicted President Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree under the New York State Penal Law, in connection with a so-called “hush money” payment made before the 2016 presidential election. President Trump has pleaded not guilty to all 34 charges, and a trial has been scheduled to begin in New York state court on March 25, 2024.
On May 9, 2023, a jury found President Trump liable for both battery and defamation against E. Jean Carroll, and Ms. Carroll was awarded $5 million in total damages for both claims (the latter of which arose from a 2022 post by President Trump on Truth Social). The jury also determined that Ms. Carroll did not prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that President Trump raped her. On July 19, 2023, a federal district court judge denied President Trump’s request for a new trial and/or reduction in damages. President Trump appealed, and a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on October 23, 2023. On January 26, 2024, following a second civil trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Ms. Carroll was awarded an additional $83.3 million in connection with statements made by President Trump in 2019. On February 7, 2024, the judge denied President Trump’s motion for a mistrial. President Trump’s countersuit against Ms. Carroll for defamation was dismissed on August 7, 2023.
On June 8, 2023, President Trump was indicted on 37 federal charges, including willful retention of national defense information related to documents seized during an FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago in August 2022. The indictment did not address President Trump’s authority with respect to such information under the Presidential Records Act, and President Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 charges. On July 27, 2023, a superseding indictment added three additional charges against President Trump. A trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has been scheduled to begin on May 20, 2024.
On August 1, 2023, President Trump was indicted on four federal charges—conspiracy to violate rights, conspiracy to defraud the government, and one count each of obstructing an official proceeding and conspiring to do so—in connection with the 2020 election and events related to the certification thereof on January 6, 2021. President Trump pleaded not guilty, and a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia was previously scheduled to begin on March 4, 2024. However, in light of an ongoing appeal, that trial date was vacated on February 2, 2024. On December 1, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that President Trump was not immune from prosecution in this matter, which was affirmed by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on February 6, 2024. Separately, on December 1, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that President Trump is not immune from certain civil claims in connection with the events of January 6, 2021.
On August 14, 2023, President Trump and 18 co-defendants were indicted on state racketeering charges brought by the district attorney in Fulton County, Georgia in connection with the aftermath of the 2020 election. In September and October 2023, four of President Trump’s co-defendants pleaded guilty. President Trump pleaded not guilty. In November 2023, the prosecutor requested an August 5, 2024 trial date. On January 25, 2024, President Trump filed a motion to join a co-defendant’s motion to dismiss the grand jury indictment and disqualify the district attorney. As of February 9, 2024, no trial date for President Trump has been set.
The foregoing does not purport to be an exhaustive list of legal proceedings in which President Trump is or has been involved. In June 2016, USA Today published an analysis of litigation involving President Trump, which found that over the previous three decades President Trump and his businesses had been involved in at least 3,500 legal cases in U.S. federal and state courts. Of the approximately 3,500 suits, President Trump or one of his companies were plaintiffs in 1,900; defendants in 1,450; and bankruptcy, third party, or other in 150. President Trump was named personally in at least 169 suits in federal court. Over 150 other cases were in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida (covering Broward County, Florida) since 1983. In the 1,300 cases where the record establishes the outcome, President Trump settled 175 times, lost 38, won 450, and had another 137 cases end with some other outcome. In the other 500 cases, judges dismissed plaintiffs’ claims against President Trump. However, you should not rely on or infer any trends based on the disposition of such prior cases against President Trump as no assurance can be given regarding the results of the pending legal proceedings.
Although TMTG is not a party to any of the above-referenced matters, TMTG cannot predict what effect, if any, an adverse outcome to such matters, or even their continued existence, may have on President Trump’s personal reputation and TMTG’s business or prospects.
A publicly-traded entity controlled by President Trump has previously been subject to a cease and desist order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
On January 16, 2002, the SEC issued a cease and desist order against Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, Inc. (“THCR”) for violations of the anti-fraud provisions of the Exchange Act. As discussed in more detail in the SEC Release No. 45287, on October 25, 1999, THCR had issued a press release announcing its results for the third quarter of 1999 (the “Earnings Release”). To announce those results, the Earnings Release used a net income figure that differed from net income calculated in conformity with U.S. GAAP. Using that non-GAAP figure, the Earnings Release touted THCR’s purportedly positive operating results for the quarter and stated that the Company had beaten analysts’ earnings expectations. The Earnings Release was materially misleading because it created the false and misleading impression that THCR had exceeded earnings expectations primarily through operational improvements, when in fact it had not. The Earnings Release expressly stated that the net income figure excluded a one-time charge. The undisclosed one-time gain was material, because it represented the difference between positive trends in revenues and earnings and negative trends in revenues and earnings, and the difference between exceeding analysts’ expectations and falling short of them. SEC stated that by knowingly or recklessly issuing a materially misleading press release, THCR violated Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The SEC accepted THCR’s offer of settlement.
Any failure to maintain effective disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting could have a material and adverse effect on its business and operating results and cause a decline in the price of TMTG Common Stock.
A number of companies that were associated with President Trump have filed for bankruptcy. There can be no assurances that TMTG will not also become bankrupt.
Entities associated with President Trump have filed for bankruptcy protection in the past. The Trump Taj Mahal, which was built and owned by President Trump, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991. The Trump Plaza, the Trump Castle, and the Plaza Hotel, all owned by President Trump at the time, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992. THCR, which was founded by President Trump in 1995, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004. Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc., the new name given to Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts after its 2004 bankruptcy, declared bankruptcy in 2009. While all of the foregoing were in different businesses than TMTG, there can be no guarantee that TMTG’s performance will exceed the performance of those entities.
A number of companies that had license agreements with President Trump have failed. There can be no assurances that TMTG will not also fail.
Trump Shuttle, Inc., launched by President Trump in 1989, defaulted on its loans in 1990 and ceased to exist by 1992. Trump University, founded by President Trump in 2005, ceased operations in 2011 amid lawsuits and investigations regarding that company’s business practices. Trump Vodka, a brand of vodka produced by Drinks Americas under license from The Trump Organization, was introduced in 2005 and discontinued in 2011. Trump Mortgage, LLC, a financial services company founded by President Trump in 2006, ceased operations in 2007. GoTrump.com, a travel site founded by President Trump in 2006, ceased operations in 2007. Trump Steaks, a brand of steak and other meats founded by President Trump in 2007, discontinued sales two months after its launch. While all these businesses were in different industries than TMTG, there can be no guarantee that TMTG’s performance will exceed the performance of these entities.
The terms of a license agreement with President Trump is not terminable by TMTG when it may be desirable to TMTG. The license agreement does not require President Trump to use Truth Social in certain circumstances.
The License Agreement includes a provision that obligates President Trump to make any non-political social media post from any of his personal (i.e., non-business) accounts on Truth Social and to refrain from making the same post on another social media site for 6 hours (the “Exclusivity Obligation”). Thereafter, he is free to post on any site to which he has access. Thus, TMTG has limited time to benefit from his posts and followers may not find it compelling to use Truth Social to read his posts that quickly.
In addition, he may make any post that he deems, in his sole discretion, to be politically-related on any social media site at any time, regardless of whether that post originates from a personal account. As a candidate for president, most or all of President Trump’s social media posts may be deemed by him to be politically related. Consequently, TMTG may lack any meaningful remedy if President Trump minimizes his use of Truth Social.
President Trump may terminate the Exclusivity Obligation upon thirty days prior written notice provided at any time on or after February 2, 2025. From and after termination of the Exclusivity Obligation, President Trump must make reasonable, good faith efforts to contemporaneously post on Truth Social any non-political posts that he makes from a personal account to another social media platform. However, that obligation is also subject to the exception for posts that President Trump deems, in his sole discretion, to be politically-related.
Under the License Agreement with President Trump, neither the personal nor political conduct of President Trump, even if such conduct could negatively reflect on TMTG’s reputation or brand or be considered offensive, dishonest, illegal, immoral, or unethical, or otherwise harmful to TMTG’s brand or reputation, shall be considered a breach of the license agreement. TMTG expressly acknowledges the controversial nature of being associated with President Trump and the possibility of any associated controversies affecting TMTG adversely.
TMTG Sub may not terminate the License Agreement based on the personal or political conduct of President Trump, even if such conduct could negatively reflect on TMTG’s reputation or brand or be considered offensive, dishonest, illegal, immoral, or unethical, or otherwise harmful to TMTG’s brand or reputation. Further, TMTG Sub may be obligated to indemnify President Trump for losses of any type that relate in any way to the License Agreement, including any such losses attributable to President Trump’s own offensive, dishonest, illegal, immoral, unethical or otherwise harmful conduct.
Risks Related to Ownership of TMTG Common Stock
Nasdaq may delist TMTG’s securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in TMTG’s securities and subject TMTG to additional trading restrictions.
TMTG’s securities are currently listed on Nasdaq. However, TMTG cannot assure you that its securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq in the future. In order to continue listing its securities on Nasdaq, TMTG must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Generally, TMTG must maintain a minimum number of holders of its securities (generally 400 public holders). Additionally, TMTG is required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, TMTG’s stock price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and TMTG will be required to have a minimum of 400 public holders (with at least 50% of such round lot holders holding securities with a market value of at least $2,500) in order to remain listed on Nasdaq. TMTG cannot assure you that TMTG will be able to meet those requirements.
If Nasdaq delists TMTG’s securities from trading on its exchange and TMTG is not able to list its securities on another national securities exchange, TMTG expects its securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, TMTG could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
a limited availability of market quotations for its securities;
reduced liquidity for its securities;
a determination that TMTG’s common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in the common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for TMTG’s securities;
a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
The market price of TMTG’s common stock may decline as a result of the Business Combination.
The market price of TMTG’s common stock may decline as a result of the Business Combination for a number of reasons including if:
investors react negatively to the prospects of TMTG’s business;
the effect of the Business Combination on TMTG’s business and prospects is not consistent with the expectations of financial or industry analysts; or
TMTG does not achieve the perceived benefits of the Business Combination as rapidly or to the extent anticipated by financial or industry analysts.
TMTG has broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds post-Closing and may not use them effectively.
TMTG cannot specify with any certainty the particular uses of the net proceeds that TMTG received pursuant to the Business Combination. TMTG’s Management has broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds, including working capital, possible acquisitions, and other general corporate purposes, and TMTG may spend or invest these proceeds in a way with which the stockholders disagree. The failure by TMTG’s Management to apply these funds effectively could harm TMTG’s business and financial condition. Pending their use, TMTG may invest the net proceeds from the offering in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value.
President Trump will have the right to terminate the License Agreement if any products or services ever fail to satisfy the highest standards for quality and reputation unless such failure is cured immediately (but not later than 30 days) after notification, regardless of whether TMTG is listed on a public stock exchange.
The License Agreement provides that, if it is not sooner terminated, the term of the License Agreement will continue in perpetuity, except that it may be terminated by TMTG Sub for convenience or by President Trump for a breach of TMTG Sub’s obligation to ensure that any products or services offered or marketed using President Trump’s name or likeness meet the highest standards of quality and reputation if such breach is not cured immediately (but not later than 30 days) after notification.
TMTG may inadvertently trigger President Trump’s right to terminate the License Agreement.
TMTG may inadvertently violate the foregoing requirement regarding quality and reputation, because that requirement is phrased in highly subjective terms, and it may not be practicable to cure any such violation within the 30-day period specified in the License Agreement.
President Trump holds approximately 57.6% of the outstanding TMTG Common Stock, which control limits or precludes other stockholders’ ability to influence the outcome of matters submitted to stockholders for approval, including the election of directors, the approval of certain employee compensation plans, the adoption of amendments to our organizational documents and the approval of any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets, or other major corporate transaction requiring stockholder approval.
President Trump beneficially owns approximately 57.6% of the voting power of the outstanding TMTG Common Stock. Accordingly, where a majority or plurality vote is required, as applicable, President Trump will be able to determine the outcome of matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors, amendments to our organizational documents and any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets or other major corporate transactions. President Trump may have interests that differ from yours and may vote in a way with which you disagree and which may be adverse to your interests. This concentrated control may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change in control of TMTG, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common stock as part of a sale of TMTG and might ultimately affect the value of TMTG Common Stock.
President Trump will, as a controlling stockholder, be entitled to vote his shares in his own interests, which may not always be in the interests of TMTG’s stockholders generally.
An active market for TMTG’s securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of TMTG’s securities.
The price of TMTG’s securities may vary significantly due to factors specific to TMTG as well as to general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for TMTG securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
TMTG’s common stock price may change significantly and you could lose all or part of your investment as a result.
The trading price of TMTG Common Stock is likely to be volatile. The stock market recently has experienced extreme volatility. This volatility often has been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular companies. You may not be able to resell your shares of TMTG Common Stock at an attractive price due to a number of factors such as those listed in “Risks Related to TMTG” and the following:
results of operations that vary from the expectations of securities analysts and investors;
results of operations that vary from TMTG’s competitors;
changes in expectations as to TMTG’s future financial performance, including financial estimates and investment recommendations by securities analysts and investors;
declines in the market prices of stocks generally;
strategic actions by TMTG or its competitors;
announcements by TMTG or its competitors of significant contracts, acquisitions, joint ventures, other strategic relationships or capital commitments;
announcements of estimates by third parties of actual or anticipated changes in the size of TMTG’s user base or the level of user engagement;
any significant change in TMTG’s management;
changes in general economic or market conditions or trends in TMTG’s industry or markets;
changes in business or regulatory conditions, including new laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing laws or regulations applicable to TMTG’s business;
additional shares of TMTG securities being sold or issued into the market by TMTG or any of the existing stockholders or the anticipation of such sales, including if TMTG issues shares to satisfy restricted stock unit related tax obligations or if existing stockholders sell shares into the market when applicable “lock-up” periods end;
investor perceptions of the investment opportunity associated with TMTG Common Stock relative to other investment alternatives;
the public’s response to press releases or other public announcements by TMTG or third parties, including TMTG’s filings with the SEC;
litigation involving TMTG, TMTG’s industry, or both, or investigations by regulators into TMTG’s operations or those of TMTG’s competitors;
guidance, if any, that TMTG provides to the public, any changes in this guidance or TMTG’s failure to meet this guidance;
the development and sustainability of an active trading market for TMTG Common Stock;
actions by institutional or activist stockholders;
developments in new legislation and pending lawsuits or regulatory actions, including interim or final rulings by judicial or regulatory bodies;
changes in accounting standards, policies, guidelines, interpretations or principles; and
other events or factors, including those resulting from pandemics, natural disasters, war, acts of terrorism or responses to these events.
These broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of TMTG Common Stock, regardless of TMTG’s actual operating performance. In addition, price volatility may be greater if the public float and trading volume of TMTG Common Stock is low.
In the past, following periods of market volatility, stockholders have instituted securities class action litigation. If TMTG was involved in securities litigation, it could have a substantial cost and divert resources and the attention of executive management from TMTG’s business regardless of the outcome of such litigation.
Because there are no current plans to pay cash dividends on TMTG Common Stock for the foreseeable future, you may not receive any return on investment unless you sell your TMTG Common Stock at a price greater than what you paid for it.
TMTG intends to retain future earnings, if any, for future operations, expansion and debt repayment, and there are no current plans to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. The declaration, amount and payment of any future dividends on shares of TMTG’s common stock will be at the sole discretion of TMTG’s Board. The TMTG Board may take into account general and economic conditions, TMTG’s financial condition and results of operations, TMTG’s available cash and current and anticipated cash needs, capital requirements, contractual, legal, tax and regulatory restrictions, implications of the payment of dividends by TMTG to its stockholders or by its subsidiaries to it and such other factors as TMTG’s Board may deem relevant. As a result, you may not receive any return on an investment in TMTG Common Stock unless you sell your TMTG Common Stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.
TMTG stockholders may experience dilution in the future.
The percentage of shares of TMTG Common Stock owned by current stockholders may be diluted in the future because of equity issuances for acquisitions, capital market transactions or otherwise, including, without limitation, equity awards that TMTG may grant to its directors, officers and employees, exercise of the TMTG Warrants. Such issuances may have a dilutive effect on TMTG’s earnings per share, which could adversely affect the market price of TMTG Common Stock.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about TMTG’s business, if they change their recommendations regarding TMTG Common Stock or if TMTG’s operating results do not meet their expectations, the TMTG Common Stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for TMTG Common Stock will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about TMTG or its businesses. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of TMTG, the trading price for TMTG Common Stock could be negatively impacted. In the event securities or industry analysts initiate coverage, if one or more of the analysts who cover TMTG downgrade its securities or publish unfavorable research about its businesses, or if TMTG’s operating results do not meet analyst expectations, the trading price of TMTG Common Stock would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of TMTG or fail to publish reports on TMTG regularly, demand for TMTG’s common stock could decrease, which might cause TMTG’s common stock price and trading volume to decline.
Future sales, or the perception of future sales, by TMTG or its stockholders in the public market could cause the market price for TMTG’s common stock to decline.
The sale of shares of TMTG Common Stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could harm the prevailing market price of shares of TMTG Common Stock. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for TMTG to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that it deems appropriate.
In connection with the Merger, certain existing TMTG stockholders, who own 70.7% shares of TMTG Common Stock following the Closing agreed, subject to certain exceptions, not to dispose of or hedge any of their shares of TMTG Common Stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of TMTG Common Stock during the period from the date of the Closing continuing through the earliest of: (i) the six-month anniversary of the Closing, (ii) the date on which the Closing price of TMTG Common Stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share for any 20 trading days within any 30 trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the Closing, and (iii) such date on which TMTG completes a liquidation, merger, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of TMTG’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of TMTG Common Stock for cash, securities or other property.
In addition, the shares of TMTG Common Stock reserved for future issuance under the 2024 Plan will become eligible for sale in the public market once those shares are issued, subject to any applicable vesting requirements, lockup agreements and other restrictions imposed by law. A total number of shares representing 7.5% of the fully diluted, and as converted, outstanding shares of TMTG Common Stock immediately following the Closing of the Merger, taking into account any additional shares that may be issued pursuant to the Earnout Shares, are expected to be reserved for future issuance under the Equity Incentive Plan. TMTG is expected to file one or more registration statements on Form S-8 under the Securities Act to register shares of TMTG Common Stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of TMTG Common Stock issued pursuant to the Equity Incentive Plan. Any such Form S-8 registration statements will automatically become effective upon filing. Accordingly, shares registered under such registration statements will be available for sale in the open market.
In the future, TMTG may also issue its securities in connection with investments or acquisitions. The amount of shares of TMTG Common Stock issued in connection with an investment or acquisition could constitute a material portion of the then-outstanding shares of TMTG Common Stock. Any issuance of additional securities in connection with investments or acquisitions may result in additional dilution to TMTG stockholders.
TMTG is an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if TMTG takes advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
TMTG is an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. TMTG may continue to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden
parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, TMTG stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We cannot predict whether investors will find securities issued by TMTG less attractive because TMTG will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find those securities less attractive as a result of its reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of TMTG’s securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for TMTG’s securities and the trading prices of TMTG’s securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. TMTGThe Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, TMTG,the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of TMTG’sthe Company’s financial statements with another public company thatwhich is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company thatwhich has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accountantaccounting standards used.
TMTGUse of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Offering Costs Associated with the Initial Public Offering
Offering costs consist of underwriting, legal, accounting and other expenses incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Initial Public Offering. These costs were charged to stockholders’ equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. On September 8, 2021, offering costs in the aggregate of $23,566,497 were charged to stockholders’ equity (consisting of deferred underwriting commission of $10,062,500, fair value of the representative shares of $1,437,500, fair value of shares issued to the anchor investors of the Company’s Initial Public Offering of $7,677,450, fair value of shares transferred to officers and directors of $221,018, and other cash offering costs of $4,168,029).
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
As discussed in Note 4, all of the 28,750,000 shares of Class A common stock sold as part of the Units in the Initial Public Offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such Public Shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there is a stockholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.
Income Taxes
The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes,” which requires an asset and liability approach to financial accounting and reporting for income taxes.
Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are computed for differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities that will remain an emerging growthresult in future taxable or deductible amounts, based on enacted tax laws and rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company’s management determined United States is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits, if any, as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2023 or December 31, 2022 and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recorded $109,217 of penalties and interest expense related to income taxes, which is included in income tax expense. No amount was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. The Company applies the two-class method in calculating earnings per share. Earnings and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. The calculation of diluted loss per share of common stock does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the (i) Initial Public Offering and (ii) sale of the Private Placement Units, because the warrants are contingently exercisable, and the contingencies have not yet been met. As a result, diluted earnings per share is the same as basic earnings per share for the periods presented.
The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net income (loss) per share (in dollars, except per share amounts):
| Year Ended | | Year Ended | |
| December 31, 2023 | | December 31, 2022 | |
| Redeemable | | Non Redeemable | | Redeemable | | Non Redeemable | |
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share of common stock Numerator: | | | | | | | | |
Allocation of net income (loss), as adjusted | | $ | (14,776,927 | ) | | $ | (7,113,714 | ) | | | (11,799,077 | ) | | $ | (3,843,471 | ) |
Denominator: Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding | | | 30,018,099
| | | | 7,187,258
| | | | 30,026,614
| | | | 7,187,500
| |
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share of common stock | | $ | (0.49 | ) | | $ | (0.99 | ) | | | (0.39 | ) | | $ | (0.53 | ) |
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution which, at times may exceed the Federal depository insurance coverage of $250,000. At December 31, 2023, the Company had not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Derivative Financial Instruments
The Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging”. Derivative instruments are initially recorded at fair value on the grant date and re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statements of operations. Derivative assets and liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement or conversion of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date. The Company accounts for the warrants in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. The Company has determined that the warrants qualify for equity treatment in the Company’s financial statements.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
Risks and Uncertainties
Management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations, and/or search for a target company, until the earliest of:specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IR Act”) was signed into federal law. The IR Act provides for, among other things, a new U.S. federal 1% excise tax on certain repurchases (including redemptions) of stock by publicly traded domestic (i.e., U.S.) corporations and certain domestic subsidiaries of publicly traded foreign corporations. The excise tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its shareholders from which shares are repurchased. The amount of the excise tax is generally 1% of the fair market
value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. However, for purposes of calculating the excise tax, repurchasing corporations are permitted to net the fair market value of certain new stock issuances against the
fair market value of stock repurchases during the same taxable year. In addition, certain exceptions apply to the excise tax. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury Department”) has been given authority to provide regulations and other guidance to carry out and prevent the abuse or avoidance of the excise tax. The IR Act applies only to repurchases that occur after December 31, 2022.
Any redemption or other repurchase that occurs after December 31, 2022, in connection with a Business Combination, extension vote or otherwise, may be subject to the excise tax. Whether and to what extent the Company would be subject to the excise tax in connection with a Business Combination, extension vote or otherwise would depend on a number of factors, including (i) the last dayfair market value of the fiscalredemptions and repurchases in connection with the Business Combination, extension or otherwise, (ii) the structure of a Business Combination, (iii) the nature and amount of any “PIPE” or other equity issuances in connection with a Business Combination (or otherwise issued not in connection with a Business Combination but issued within the same taxable year followingof a Business Combination) and (iv) the fifth anniversarycontent of regulations and other guidance from the Treasury. In addition, because the excise tax would be payable by the Company and not by the redeeming shareholder, the mechanics of any required payment of the excise tax have not been determined. The foregoing could cause a reduction in the cash available on hand to complete a Business Combination and in the Company’s ability to complete a Business Combination.