I like to harp on local House Reps, typically Democrats, who block people on social media that disagree with their public political statements, positions, or advocacy. Now, I can say they should have seen this coming, especially those who praised the courts for smacking then-President Trump around for doing the same thing.
The 9-0 decision sends a warning to anyone in government who chooses to mix private with politics on social media and uses that as an excuse to block people.
The United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Friday that government officials who post about work-related topics on their personal social media accounts can be held liable for violating the First Amendment rights of constituents by blocking their access or deleting their critical comments.
While private citizens can block whomever they please if they are on the taxpayer’s dime in any official capacity, sharing content on a personal social feed could set up a potential lawsuit by anyone or everyone ever blocked.
I’ve issued similar warnings in the past that include not just Dems but Republicans and Libertarians. This was inevitable, and this latest 9-0 first amendment decision sets the groundwork. Suppose you discuss your political agenda on measures, bills, issues, or other business of a town, county, state, or federal office. In that case, the public must be able to comment, or you are violating their First Amendment rights.
The first case involved two elected members of a California school board — the Poway Unified School District Board of Trustees — who blocked concerned parents from their Facebook and Twitter accounts after leaving critical comments.
The court upheld the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that said the board members had violated the parents’ free speech rights.
The second related case has been returned to the Sixth Circuit for a second look, but you should expect Democrats to start suing their political opponents long before that case is reviewed. They might be the party of Real™ censorship, but they know how to work a decision in their favor, and they can prop up an NGO to sue you faster than you can read what I just wrote.
Everyone is on notice, from town councils to school boards, county delegations, state legislatures, and executive branch staffers. Separate the people’s work -however sinister – from private content, or stop blocking people from your social feeds.
Test cases are expected almost immediately.
And yes, this has enormous implications for systemic censorship on social media and pending SCOTUS cases (their decisions, at least) regarding organized censorship by the government outlined in the Twitter Files.