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Judge Rules Trump Can’t Block People on Twitter

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Re: Judge Rules Trump Can’t Block People on Twitter

#111

An interesting ruling, here is my prediction on the effect of the ruling: This will enable the twitterati to get Trump off Twitter. Without the ability to block users, he will be hounded with notifications from adversaries using trigger phrases designed to irritate and harass him.

There's a Mute button. It's like Block but much simpler, in that it doesn't prevent other people from following him or reading his tweets. He just won't see what they say back.

Agreed mute is kind of like blocking. Except that muting does not prevent other people reading comments on your tweets from reading them.

I don't know who he blocks on a regular basis, so I am really speculating here. The cases I have seen I would classify as 'truthers'. Those are people who post things that link to or refute statements made by Trump in the tweet that he cannot effectively argue with.

My guess here is that the dischordant notes in the comments, even when he doesn't see them will have his followers who are arguing with these people retweeting and/or replying and keep the data visible.

That limits Trump's ability to control the narrative and with enough of these people it could reach a situation where there are more 'counter' replies than actual supporting replies.

Few people enjoy using a platform where your every statement is countered by people pointing out opposing and counter factual information.

Re: Judge Rules Trump Can’t Block People on Twitter

#112
post #104

I am not legal expert but it makes perfect sense that any government official must not deny access to information to any citizen which is easily available to another. Blocking means other person can not see trump's tweets. I believe Trump can always mute other people. Let us consider the following scenarios : - Trump blocks only black people on Twitter. - Hawaii's missile alert systems issues a real missile alert on…

Because Twitter is not a government owned entity, the government should have no right to force the use or means of use of a private tool. Now if the tool was a government utility, it would be a different story.

Nobody is forcing Trump to use Twitter. They are saying that if he uses Twitter, he must leave his tweets open to all the public and not a subset. President Trump could always choose to close his account if he finds this requirement to be too onerous.

Re: Judge Rules Trump Can’t Block People on Twitter

#113
post #9

Will this apply to all government officials on twitter? Can twitter still ban a user if they deem the content to be harassment/etc?

Not just government officials - it seems like the same logic would apply to celebrities like Alyssa Milano who use their twitter almost exclusively as a political campaign forum.

That's not the same thing. Celebrities are not elected officials representing constituents. Perhaps if someone is actually running for office it makes a difference, but I'm not sure when these sorts of laws kick in.

Re: Judge Rules Trump Can’t Block People on Twitter

#114
> The judge said the comment section of Trump’s personal account, @realDonaldTrump, is a public forum and that blocking users on the basis of political speech is a violation of their free-speech rights under the First Amendment.

If this applied to @potus I might agree with it but applying it to his personal account is rubbish. You could easily extend that same logic to say that any elected official, at any level of government, can't block communications from anyone on their personal accounts.

Trump using his personal account to comment on "work" (i.e. being President) doesn't de facto make it a work account no more than me complaining about my job on my personal email turns it into a work email.

Re: Judge Rules Trump Can’t Block People on Twitter

#115

Isn't there a caveat? The article (unlike the headline) says "blocking people based on political speech" is forbidden. However, he is still free to block trolls right?

US First Amendment law is quite complex, and there's a lot of annoying little details to consider.

Essentially, designating a public forum means that the only restrictions are "time, place, and manner", and restrictions must be content-neutral. Furthermore, even the time/place/manner restrictions have to follow some level of reasonableness, with the exact level dependent on mildly arcane details, and I don't know the exact details here. The safest thing to do is say that he can't block trolls, because it's always easiest to default to assume that blocking speech is unconstitutional.

First Amendment rights are surprisingly far-ranging--it's unconstitutional for a city to deny neo-Nazis the right to march in a neighborhood of Holocaust survivors.

Re: Judge Rules Trump Can’t Block People on Twitter

#116
post #104

I am not legal expert but it makes perfect sense that any government official must not deny access to information to any citizen which is easily available to another. Blocking means other person can not see trump's tweets. I believe Trump can always mute other people. Let us consider the following scenarios : - Trump blocks only black people on Twitter. - Hawaii's missile alert systems issues a real missile alert on…

Because Twitter is not a government owned entity, the government should have no right to force the use or means of use of a private tool. Now if the tool was a government utility, it would be a different story.

Then maybe the government should not use twitter for any official statements? Why should they be allowed to get around the rules by using twitter?

Re: Judge Rules Trump Can’t Block People on Twitter

#117
post #104

I am not legal expert but it makes perfect sense that any government official must not deny access to information to any citizen which is easily available to another. Blocking means other person can not see trump's tweets. I believe Trump can always mute other people. Let us consider the following scenarios : - Trump blocks only black people on Twitter. - Hawaii's missile alert systems issues a real missile alert on…

Because Twitter is not a government owned entity, the government should have no right to force the use or means of use of a private tool. Now if the tool was a government utility, it would be a different story.

The government can set its own rules and restrictions for the use of a private service for it's employees.

There is no need for a tool to be owned by the government to be utilized by the government.

Re: Judge Rules Trump Can’t Block People on Twitter

#118
post #107
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most politicians don't use their Twitter feed to make policy, like Trump does. If you run a widget business, and Trump makes a tweet that says, "I ban all widgets, especially widget company x", you should have the right to see that from the source. That's the distinction the judge made - Trump uses his feed as an official government policy mouthpiece.

A mouthpiece yes, but an official way to "make policy" no. Policy is still created through official means like signing executive orders, etc.

> A mouthpiece yes, but an official way to "make policy" no

Sorry but you are wrong. Trump's administration has stated that his tweets are official statements. Meaning, he can't block people who reply to his tweets.

https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/06/politics/trump-tweets-officia...

Re: Judge Rules Trump Can’t Block People on Twitter

#119
post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because Twitter is not a government owned entity, the government should have no right to force the use or means of use of a private tool. Now if the tool was a government utility, it would be a different story.

Nobody is forcing Trump to use Twitter. They are saying that if he uses Twitter, he must leave his tweets open to all the public and not a subset. President Trump could always choose to close his account if he finds this requirement to be too onerous.

Do his Gmail emails need to be open to all the public? His Slack messages? His Facebook posts?

I don't see how anyone, president or otherwise, can't chose whom they send messages to.

Re: Judge Rules Trump Can’t Block People on Twitter

#120
post #114

> The judge said the comment section of Trump’s personal account, @realDonaldTrump, is a public forum and that blocking users on the basis of political speech is a violation of their free-speech rights under the First Amendment. If this applied to @potus I might agree with it but applying it to his personal account is rubbish. You could easily extend that same logic to say that any elected official, at any level of g…

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