President Trump sued for blocking people on Twitter

[Divine Wind]

When will President Trump realize that his Twitter-mania is his own worst enemy? It makes him vulnerable to opponents.

President Trump sued for blocking people on Twitter - BBC News
President Donald Trump has been party to an eye-watering 4,000 lawsuits over the last 30 years, US media say.

And now the mogul turned commander-in-chief has attracted one more, after seven people sued him for blocking them on Twitter.

Mr Trump is an avid user of the social media forum, which he deploys to praise allies and lambast critics.

The lawsuit was filed by the Knight First Amendment Institute, a free speech group at Columbia University.

The seven Twitter users involved claim their accounts were blocked by the president, or his aides, after they replied to his tweets with mocking or critical comments.

People on Twitter are unable to see or respond to tweets from accounts that block them.

The legal complaint argues that by blocking these individuals, Mr Trump has barred them from joining the online conversation.

It calls the move an attempt to "suppress dissent" in a public forum - and a violation of their First Amendment right to free speech.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and the president's social media director Daniel Scavino are also named in the lawsuit.

Last month, Mr Spicer said Mr Trump's tweets were considered "official statements by the president of the United States".

The president's @realDonaldTrump Twitter account has 33.7m followers, while the official @POTUS account has 19.3m.
Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute, said the president's love of Twitter means it has become "an important source of news and information about the government".

"The First Amendment applies to this digital forum in the same way it applies to town halls and open school board meetings," he said.

"The White House acts unlawfully when it excludes people from this forum simply because they've disagreed with the president."

According to the institute, the account's blocking habit should be a concern for everyone.

Why? Because even if they can read the president's tweets, what they see has been consciously cleansed of criticism.

 

[TemplarKormac]

"The First Amendment applies to this digital forum in the same way it applies to town halls and open school board meetings," he said.

Wrong!

The first Amendment applies to the actions of government, not to private citizens and companies. Since Twitter is a non government entity, it isn't subject to the same constitutional restraints as the government is.

Oh, and get this, the president is still a citizen himself, and has a constitutional right to block whomever he wishes from his twitter account.

 

[blackhawk]

Seems like a rather silly lawsuit to me I mean for Gods sake you can block posters here so you don't have to see them but other people still can you can block people on Facebook you can block people on your cell phone. Just because one has a twitter or any social media account doesn't mean you don't have the right to decide who you want to see and hear from and who you don't.

 

[Divine Wind]

"The First Amendment applies to this digital forum in the same way it applies to town halls and open school board meetings," he said.

Wrong!

The first Amendment applies to the actions of government, not to private citizens and companies. Since Twitter is a non government entity, it isn't subject to the same constitutional restraints as the government is.

Oh, and get this, the president is still a citizen himself, and has a constitutional right to block whomever he wishes from his twitter account.

President Trump is the "government". Since it's been admitted that his tweets constitute official policy, it opens him up to this lawsuit. Of course, that doesn't mean those suing will win, but as I mentioned in the OP, the fact he does makes him vulnerable to lawsuits.

 

[Divine Wind]

Seems like a rather silly lawsuit to me I mean for Gods sake you can block posters here so you don't have to see them but other people still can you can block people on Facebook you can block people on your cell phone. Just because one has a twitter or any social media account doesn't mean you don't have the right to decide who you want to see and hear from and who you don't.

I have no doubt there's some Democratic Party money supporting the suits. Still, if there is anything to it, the lawsuit detracts from President Trump's agenda. If there is nothing to it, it will be quickly dismissed.

Again, my main point is that his Tweeting causes more problems for him than it solves.

If he had a Facebook account like Sarah Palin, the same thing applies since, unlike Palin, he isn't a private citizen. He's an elected government official. Why do you think other elected officials are don't just "shoot the shit" on their facebook and twitter accounts?

 

[SassyIrishLass]

Oh boy now people are suing for being blocked on social media? That's freaking stupid

 

[Divine Wind]

Oh boy now people are suing for being blocked on social media? That's freaking stupid

Only when it's an elected official. You and I are free to block whomever we like. Let's see how this plays out in court over the next 6-12 months leading up to the November 2018 elections.

 

[TemplarKormac]

President Trump is the "government".

No, he isn't.

He is one branch of government, leader of the executive branch. And since we go by co-equal branches, his branch holds no more power over the other two than the other two do over his.

Since it's been admitted that his tweets constitute official policy

The problem here is if the president isn't allowed to block people on his own twitter account, then we're setting precedent that freedom of speech and association do not apply to government officials. Are we saying he has no Constitutional rights in this matter?

 

[blackhawk]

Seems like a rather silly lawsuit to me I mean for Gods sake you can block posters here so you don't have to see them but other people still can you can block people on Facebook you can block people on your cell phone. Just because one has a twitter or any social media account doesn't mean you don't have the right to decide who you want to see and hear from and who you don't.

I have no doubt there's some Democratic Party money supporting the suits. Still, if there is anything to it, the lawsuit detracts from President Trump's agenda. If there is nothing to it, it will be quickly dismissed.

Again, my main point is that his Tweeting causes more problems for him than it solves.

I tend to agree but he's not going to stop so I'm not going to stress over it I just find the idea of people suing to stop the President or anyone else from being able to control their twitter account how they wish pretty silly.

 

[SassyIrishLass]

Oh boy now people are suing for being blocked on social media? That's freaking stupid

Only when it's an elected official. You and I are free to block whomever we like. Let's see how this plays out in court over the next 6-12 months leading up to the November 2018 elections.

It's stupid and just more butt hurt

 

[Divine Wind]

President Trump is the "government".

No, he isn't.

He is one branch of government, leader of the executive branch. And since we go by co-equal branches, his branch holds no more power over the other two than the other two do over his.

Since it's been admitted that his tweets constitute official policy

The problem here is if the president isn't allowed to block people on his own twitter account, then we're setting precedent that freedom of speech and association do not apply to government officials. Are we saying he has no Constitutional rights in this matter?

Awesome! Let's see your legal briefs for when this goes to court.

 

[Divine Wind]

Oh boy now people are suing for being blocked on social media? That's freaking stupid

Only when it's an elected official. You and I are free to block whomever we like. Let's see how this plays out in court over the next 6-12 months leading up to the November 2018 elections.

It's stupid and just more butt hurt

Nonetheless, it's an interesting case which we'll see dragged out over the next year.

President Trump vs. We, the People regarding the First Amendment. Should be very, very interesting!

 

[TemplarKormac]

President Trump is the "government".

No, he isn't.

He is one branch of government, leader of the executive branch. And since we go by co-equal branches, his branch holds no more power over the other two than the other two do over his.

Since it's been admitted that his tweets constitute official policy

The problem here is if the president isn't allowed to block people on his own twitter account, then we're setting precedent that freedom of speech and association do not apply to government officials. Are we saying he has no Constitutional rights in this matter?

Awesome! Let's see your legal briefs for when this goes to court.

The case will get thrown out. No need to be snide.

 

[Divine Wind]

Seems like a rather silly lawsuit to me I mean for Gods sake you can block posters here so you don't have to see them but other people still can you can block people on Facebook you can block people on your cell phone. Just because one has a twitter or any social media account doesn't mean you don't have the right to decide who you want to see and hear from and who you don't.

I have no doubt there's some Democratic Party money supporting the suits. Still, if there is anything to it, the lawsuit detracts from President Trump's agenda. If there is nothing to it, it will be quickly dismissed.

Again, my main point is that his Tweeting causes more problems for him than it solves.

I tend to agree but he's not going to stop so I'm not going to stress over it I just find the idea of people suing to stop the President or anyone else from being able to control their twitter account how they wish pretty silly.

I'm sure the Democrats don't want him to stop either. More likely it's the Republicans running for reelection who are shitting in their boots.

 

[SassyIrishLass]

Oh boy now people are suing for being blocked on social media? That's freaking stupid

Only when it's an elected official. You and I are free to block whomever we like. Let's see how this plays out in court over the next 6-12 months leading up to the November 2018 elections.

It's stupid and just more butt hurt

Nonetheless, it's an interesting case which we'll see dragged out over the next year.

President Trump vs. We, the People regarding the First Amendment. Should be very, very interesting!

Any judge worth his/her salt will laugh and toss it

 

[blackhawk]

Seems like a rather silly lawsuit to me I mean for Gods sake you can block posters here so you don't have to see them but other people still can you can block people on Facebook you can block people on your cell phone. Just because one has a twitter or any social media account doesn't mean you don't have the right to decide who you want to see and hear from and who you don't.

I have no doubt there's some Democratic Party money supporting the suits. Still, if there is anything to it, the lawsuit detracts from President Trump's agenda. If there is nothing to it, it will be quickly dismissed.

Again, my main point is that his Tweeting causes more problems for him than it solves.

I tend to agree but he's not going to stop so I'm not going to stress over it I just find the idea of people suing to stop the President or anyone else from being able to control their twitter account how they wish pretty silly.

I'm sure the Democrats don't want him to stop either. More likely it's the Republicans running for reelection who are shitting in their boots.

My advice to those Republicans would be if someone ask you about Trumps tweets tell them if you want to talk about Trumps ask him about them.

 

[Divine Wind]

President Trump is the "government".

No, he isn't.

He is one branch of government, leader of the executive branch. And since we go by co-equal branches, his branch holds no more power over the other two than the other two do over his.

Since it's been admitted that his tweets constitute official policy

The problem here is if the president isn't allowed to block people on his own twitter account, then we're setting precedent that freedom of speech and association do not apply to government officials. Are we saying he has no Constitutional rights in this matter?

Awesome! Let's see your legal briefs for when this goes to court.

The case will get thrown out. No need to be snide.

Snide is posting "Wrong!" and "No, he isn't" regarding POTUS. If this had been about President Obama, I think the flip-flopping on this thread would have strained a few backs.

Let's see how the case goes. I'm sure it will be great reading in between the news about the mid-terms.

Again, the DNC wants this shit in the news and the RNC doesn't. What's the smarter move? Let it play out in court? Stop the blocking but also the Tweeting? Growing a thicker skin?

 

[Divine Wind]

Oh boy now people are suing for being blocked on social media? That's freaking stupid

Only when it's an elected official. You and I are free to block whomever we like. Let's see how this plays out in court over the next 6-12 months leading up to the November 2018 elections.

It's stupid and just more butt hurt

Nonetheless, it's an interesting case which we'll see dragged out over the next year.

President Trump vs. We, the People regarding the First Amendment. Should be very, very interesting!

Any judge worth his/her salt will laugh and toss it

Is that like declaring the election corrupt if you lose but honest if you win?

 

[SassyIrishLass]

Oh boy now people are suing for being blocked on social media? That's freaking stupid

Only when it's an elected official. You and I are free to block whomever we like. Let's see how this plays out in court over the next 6-12 months leading up to the November 2018 elections.

It's stupid and just more butt hurt

Nonetheless, it's an interesting case which we'll see dragged out over the next year.

President Trump vs. We, the People regarding the First Amendment. Should be very, very interesting!

Any judge worth his/her salt will laugh and toss it

Is that like declaring the election corrupt if you lose but honest if you win?

No it's like some butthurt loons bringing forth frivolous lawsuits

 

[Moonglow]

"The First Amendment applies to this digital forum in the same way it applies to town halls and open school board meetings," he said.

Wrong!

The first Amendment applies to the actions of government, not to private citizens and companies. Since Twitter is a non government entity, it isn't subject to the same constitutional restraints as the government is.

Oh, and get this, the president is still a citizen himself, and has a constitutional right to block whomever he wishes from his twitter account.

It has to do with transmission of frequency in open air, which the govt. does claim...