Trump is against freedom of speech, says USA rights institute
What does a tyrant and Trump have in common? Well, they have been both accused of curbing the voice of their people. How did the President of the "land of the free" manage to pull that off? Well by blocking haters from his Twitter account. However, a prominent group has now asked him to stop, citing "Freedom of speech" violation. Here's all about it.
The controversial personal account of POTUS
The account in question is POTUS' personal account, one where he often ends up making a faux pas by making controversial comments, which then turns into news. A quick look into the account: Donald Trump with the Twitter handle "@realDonaldTrump" has more than 31M followers, 35k tweets and a tough 22 likes for his family members, his much loved Fox News and Mike Pence.
What makes him get so much flak?
In case you have been following the news, the US president here tweets about Obama spying on him without any proof, how US media only provides fake news and how the fabled wall to ward off Mexico would be built. It goes without saying that these claims don't go well with rational Americans and so they end up disagreeing, criticizing and mocking his stances.
Trump's solution, block the haters
Recently Donald Trump, as a retaliation, had blocked several Twitter accounts, who criticized him on this social media platform. In lieu of this action, The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University has sent a letter to the POTUS saying that he should stop blocking people and unblock those he has blocked recently, as it violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
Not very President like
The US First Amendment says that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press…" So in principle, the President of the US, who is oath bound to honor the Constitution, just can't block someone from exercising his freedom of speech.
Institute may sue, if POTUS doesn't resolve the issue
Alex Abdo, the institute's senior staff attorney, said that in a modern context, Twitter is similar to a town hall meeting or public comment periods for government agency proposals, both of which under US law gives the right to be heard. Internet law expert Prof. Eric Goldman said if the Institute decided to sue, arguing it's a personal account, that'd be a "laughable" defense.
