US court rules against President Trump blocking his twitter followers
A US federal court today declared that President Donald Trump cannot block his followers on Twitter as this violated the First Amendment. US District Judge in New York Southern District Naomi Reice Buchwald gave her ruling on a petition filed by a group of seven followers who alleged that President Trump barred them from viewing his feed. Trump has over 50 million Twitter followers.
Public officials cannot block a person from their twitter account
The court was asked to consider whether a public official may, consistent with the First Amendment, "block" a person from his Twitter account in response to the political views that person has expressed, and whether the analysis differs because that public official is the President of the United States. Buchwald replied "no" to both the questions, in her 75-page judgment.
Court's decision showed careful application of First Amendment principles
"We're pleased with the court's decision, which reflects a careful application of core First Amendment principles to government censorship on a new communications platform," said Jameel Jaffer, executive director of Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the group. He commented that the President's practice of blocking critics on Twitter is pernicious and unconstitutional.
US Department of Justice disagrees with the ruling
"We disagree with the ruling and are considering the next steps", US Justice Department spokesperson Kerri Kupec said. "We hold that the speech in which they seek to engage is protected by the First Amendment and that the President and Scavino exert governmental control over certain aspects of the @realDonaldTrump account, including the interactive space of the tweets sent from the account," Kupec said.
