Trump's blocking of Twitter users ruled unconstitutional
In a decision that may be felt across the nation by public officials on social media, federal judge Naomi Buchwald ruled Trump's Twitter feed a public forum, affirming that it was used in an official capacity as a town hall for those seeking information and updates from the president. The ruling states: "We hold that portions of the @realDonaldTrump account -- the "interactive space" where Twitter users may directly engage with the content of the President's tweets -- are properly analyzed under the "public forum" doctrines set forth by the Supreme Court, that such space is a designated public forum, and that the blocking of the plaintiffs based on their political speech constitutes viewpoint discrimination that violates the First Amendment In so holding, we reject the defendants' contentions that the First Amendment does not apply in this case that the President's personal First Amendment interests supersede those of plaintiffs."
This ruling declares that by blocking users from accessing the words of the president in a public forum, the president is violating the First Amendment rights of the plaintiffs and all others who seek to read or reply to his posts.
To read the full ruling on .pdf, please click here.
To view on Westlaw, please click here.
