Trump loses Twitter decision

His block of access by critics violates rights, judge rules

President Donald Trump's decision to block his Twitter followers over their political views is a violation of the First Amendment, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying Trump's effort to silence his critics is not permissible under the U.S. Constitution because the digital space in which he engages with constituents is a public forum.

The ruling rejects administration arguments that the First Amendment does not apply to Trump in this case because he was acting as a private individual. In a 75-page decision, Judge Naomi Buchwald said Trump, as a federal official, is not exempt from constitutional obligations to refrain from "viewpoint discrimination."

"No government official -- including the President -- is above the law," wrote Buchwald for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Under the ruling, Buchwald did not order Trump to unblock his followers, saying a finding that clarifies the law is sufficient to resolve the dispute. Should Trump ignore the ruling, analysts say, future litigation could force Twitter to unblock Trump's followers unilaterally.

The decision marks a victory for free-speech activists representing seven Twitter users who alleged that their rights had been infringed after they tweeted at Trump critiquing his policies. Trump blocked them on Twitter, preventing them from seeing his tweets or interacting with them.

"We are extremely pleased that the judge held that the president's blocking of critics from the realDonaldTrump Twitter account violates the First Amendment," said Katie Fallow, a senior staff attorney with the Knight First Amendment Institute who argued the case.

While the ruling narrowly targets the Trump administration and is not binding on other public officials, it establishes an important legal precedent that they will be likely to follow. Importantly, the ruling identifies only parts of Trump's account as a public forum subject to First Amendment protections, not the entire account nor the rest of Twitter.

"The decision may have implications for other government officials' blocking of critics on social media," said Joshua Geltzer, an expert in constitutional law at Georgetown University, "but it doesn't even come close to making all of Twitter a public forum, as the vast majority of the Twittersphere is not being converted into a public forum by government actors."

The government does not dispute that Trump blocked the Twitter users for political reasons. But the Justice Department had argued that Trump was largely acting in a personal capacity, much like "giving a toast at a wedding or giving a speech at a fundraiser."

But through his Twitter bio and the way in which he frequently uses the medium to comment on public policy, Trump portrays his account as presidential "and, more importantly, uses the account to take actions that can be taken only by the President as President," Buchwald wrote.

What's more, Buchwald said, the space below Trump's tweets that shows the public's replies are a public forum, because it is "generally accessible to the public" and anyone with a Twitter account is able to view those responses, assuming that the user has not been blocked.

While presidents retain their own First Amendment rights even when they take public office, the judge said, Trump "cannot exercise those rights in a way that infringes the corresponding First Amendment rights of those who have criticized him."



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A Section on 05/24/2018

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