In a letter to the White House on Tuesday, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University called on the president to stop blocking users, arguing that the @realDonaldTrump handle with its nearly 32 million followers amounts to a “designated public forum” that all Americans should have access to — even opponents.
“This is a context in which the Constitution precludes the president from making up his own rules,” Jameel Jaffer, the Knight Institute’s executive director, said in a statement. “Though the architects of the Constitution surely didn’t contemplate presidential Twitter accounts, they understood that the president must not be allowed to banish views from public discourse simply because he finds them objectionable. Having opened this forum to all comers, the president can’t exclude people from it merely because he dislikes what they’re saying.”
The Knight Institute is representing two Twitter users, with potentially more to come, who say they were blocked by Trump’s private account for criticizing the president.
One was Holly O’Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan), who was blocked May 28 after she tweeted a GIF of Pope Francis raising his eyebrows at the sight of Trump. Above it, she wrote: “This is pretty much how the whole world sees you.”
The other was Joseph M. Papp (@joepabike), who replied to a Trump weekly video address June 3 by writing “Greetings from Pittsburgh, Sir” and “Why didn’t you attend your #PittsburghNotParis rally in DC, Sir?” He was blocked the following day.
Lawyers for the Knight Institute, which threatened to take legal action, said the Twitter blocks were tantamount to a City Council blocking critics from attending a council meeting. “It would be like telling them to wait in the hallway,” said Katie Fallow, a senior litigator for the group.
I was blocked by Obama multiple times so if this true I cant wait.
Ryder Sanchez
tfw you have more rights than POTUS.
Does this apply to everyone blocking Drumpf?
Connor Myers
But leftists attacking you and starting riots so you cannot speak on college campuses if they disagree with you is perfectly okay
Adrian Jenkins
RWDS when? I can't take this shit anymore.
Carson Cox
Twitter is privately owned they have absolutely zero obligation to respect the first amendment.
Joseph Foster
>Being blocked on the internet is against the first amendment >liberal news sites and YouTube channels block comments
Wow really toggles the noggin
Jack Williams
>Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech >the Executive must broadcast my shitposts fuck right off
Tyler Jackson
I could see a little logic in this, (wouldn't agree because being blocked doesn't stop you from posting. This is like saying that if you called the president on a phone and he hangs up on you he is violating the first) if they were referring to the potus twitter account but @realdonaldtrump is a personal account.
Chase Baker
I got banned by obama and nobody gave a fuck then
Logan Brooks
Doesn't the First Amendment also imply a freedom of negative association?
Isaac Price
let them open this can of worms. there will be legal teams going after twitter, facebook, and google to destroy them if any of this shit actually passes. they need to censor conservatives more than anybody needs to censor liberals
Jose Gutierrez
They block their critics all the time.
Cooper Roberts
It would be glorious if this works.
All those fucking nigger, feminist and kike cunts forced to unblock my accounts.
Milo and Richard Spencer will be back on too.
Thomas Williams
Right to free speech =/= right to free reading
Juan Butler
Except it's his private twitter account he's held for years, and his blocking you is a function of the website, not his executive power. I'm not violating your rights by blocking you on twitter, and neither is he.
Chase Roberts
That is Trump's personal account though. He has a presidential account @POTUS
Aaron Walker
twitter blocks a lot of people
Christopher Lopez
>Lawyers for the Knight Institute, which threatened to take legal action, said the Twitter blocks were tantamount to a City Council blocking critics from attending a council meeting.
I'm going to have a lot of fun with this.
Zachary Taylor
>frogs in charge of interpreting the constitution
Jackson Long
Silly American Liberal opinions are never wrong
Robert Evans
Bake the cake bigot. >Its different when we do it.
Christopher Murphy
>it's real.
Jordan Green
Uhh, isn't it always liberals who make the point that having freedom of speech doesn't mean people have to listen to you or give you a platform?
Tyler Perry
This too.
Was Obama violating the first because the secret service stopped you from jumping the fence and joining in on family dinner.
Jace Walker
Excellent. Do it faggots, and watch the legal shit storm against google, twitter, facebook, youtube, etc. who have blocked, banned, and outright silenced any content and users they didn't want noticed. This will backfire immensely, so please, continue, you short-sighted reactionary dullards.
Oliver Wright
Sean Spicer said today tweets from Donald Trump's account, not the official potus account, are considered official statements. It is an interesting legal question for sure.
Alexander Price
>Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
>Congress
Yes, but the 14th Amendment says no. We'll either have to get a very nearly majority nonwhite country to axe the 14th, or give up on the Constitution.
Ian Hill
For most of our history, yes. But that changed in the 1960s. Now freedom of association means everyone has the right to associate with you even if you don't want to associate with them.
Noah Lee
The freedom of speech does not include the right to compel others to listen.
be very afraid of 'liberals' claiming otherwise.
this is a nonsense argument, one that should be ignored, no matter what any federal trial or appellate judge says.
Regressive Leftists crying free speech now - Peak Irony.
Read what the 1st Anendment says.
Ian Collins
Wait, so if he deletes his now huge twitter account, it's that censoring free speech?
You don't get to see his content on that platform anymore, so it must be censorship.
Owen Williams
If anyone actually pushes this they'll get fucking annihilated legally by people that don't have downs.
Xavier Turner
Personally I feel censored because Trump doesn't come to Sup Forums and shitpost with us.
Carter Collins
Liberals don't have to follow their own rules, didn't ya know?
Isaiah Bennett
He's refusing to listen to you, not violating your freedom of speech. Trump's private twitter account isn't a public platform. Is the 1st amendment violated when CNN won't let me go on their show and talk about whatever I want?
Jeremiah Kelly
>@realDonaldTrump >not @POTUS
Wow cased closed I sure hope those lawyers were worth it.
Samuel Lewis
The Left has gone Full Retard again. "DRUMPHPHFF can't block people on Twitter!" Meanwhile, Twitter deletes accounts it doesn't like.
Jonathan Morris
@realdonaldtrump is his personal twitter and he can do what he damn well pleases with it
@POTUS is the presidential twitter account, which is a "designated public forum" that hasn't blocked anyone
Sebastian Murphy
>A public forum Better unblock me from all of the public figures who have blocked me then.
Xavier Morales
Oh boy i hope they open this can of worms. bwha watch it blow up in their faces.
Landon Perez
I can 'threaten' to take legal action at you for calling me a meanie. Will I take it? If I take it will I win? No. This is the most absurd partisan legal argument yet. Freedom of speech doesn't mean 'forced to listen'
Jackson Cooper
Even if he blocked them from @Potus it wouldn't change a thing. If these people said what they tweeted to Trump's face, do you think the 1st Amendment would keep Trump from walking away?
Bentley Martin
we do actually severely need some sort of freedom of speech provision to protect the internet against corporate censorship
think twitter bans for memes, video game bans for "toxic" trash talk where you lose access to a game you paid money for etc
see pic for what reddit thinks about this topic
Kayden Price
>that all Americans should have access to — even opponents.
So log out nigga like hahahahhaahahahaha
Luis King
>peek again >prone prone crouch crouch
fucking lel
Grayson Scott
Right. The constitution did not explicitly consider forum misuse by abusive users. The anonymity of the internet emboldenens morons. (See Sup Forums every day for examples) The constitution does not require that public figures put up with those directing specific hate at a particular person (famous or not), threats, and by people stalking internet users just to leave abuses so they can get followers. Constitutional protection ends when you misuse your rights to inflict harms on others. Pic related
Dominic Wright
It's simple, all Trump has to do is say it's hate speech. That works on college campuses for preventing certain types speakers.
Adam Brown
>Leftist channels disable comments >It's okay when we do it though
Really sizzles my stir fry.
Dylan Cruz
Ive been blocked by 7 new networks twitter handles for calling em retsrds and talking shit. If Trump has to unblock the shitheads hes blocked then CNN should unblock me so I call them retards 20 times a post
Zachary Parker
This case can have two possible results depending on the holding:
>The court holds that Twitter is a public forum and Trump loses. As a result, any and all censorship or manipulation done by twitter creates a cause of action on the grounds of a first amendment violation.
Or
>The court holds that Twitter is not a public forum and Trump wins. Things remain as they are
This is all assuming that they were blocked from @POTUS rather than his personal handle. I don't care to check the article because I refuse to read legal articles written by 99% of major media outlets.
Christian Ross
What's stop these idiots from seeing his tweets from a different account? Is a full block ip or account ban?
Leo Rodriguez
>violating first amendment rights It's fucking twitter for fucks sake.God I hate liberals with a passion.
Tyler Reed
You can see his tweets if you log out, this is a non argument.
Ian Davis
JUST LOG OUT YOU FUCKING ASSHOLES and you can see everything
Joseph Watson
>thinking I'm going to let someone named Jameel Jafar lecture me about the Constitution
Yeah I don't think so. You can go back to Agrabah.
Nicholas Price
also check my fucking digits
Nathaniel Adams
Desu what those people were doing was and still is borderline harassment. I get that the man has some semblance of duty to keep himself open to the public, however berating literally everything he tweeted with sweetieposting is just retarded. None of it added anything to public discourse, it was all just awww poor baby trump got his feefees hurt or shit like that. He did what anyone should do when faced with that kind of retardation and thats block the cunt. Better that than opening the can of worms that is a harassment complaint.
Lincoln Ortiz
>California isn't Texas It's scary because, depending on the where the case is filed, the outcome could be different. People seem so polarized & crazy anymore.
Thomas Martin
This is such a dumb argument, it's astounding.
If the president is being streamed live on tv and some lunatic starts shouting at him, is he required to sit there and listen "because the first amendment"? Twitter is just as much of a "public forum". And if it were really a public forum subject to the rules they want, then twitter would have to stop banning conservatives for being conservatives.
The left is trying to lose some of its most powerful strangleholds for tiny, meaningless victories. It's like the 2016 election all over again!
Hunter Thomas
Hmmm, you know I do see their point in this. If it was the actions of Twitter stopping me from seeing it, then it wouldn't violate those rights. But it's the actions of a government entity causing it. Kind of an interesting case.
Logan James
lol your don't know your own law.
The government has to respect freedom of speech, nobody else does. There is absolutely nothing stopping a privately owned service like Twitter, or any business in America from massively censoring anyone they wish, besides public backlash.
If Twitter wants to ban everyone who speaks against Muslims or Trump or anyone who says the word "faggot" then they're 100% within their legal rights to do that.
Same goes for freedom of assembly, in a public place you have that right and the government must respect it, but you can't go into someone's privately owned business or house and start a protest if they don't want you there.
The first amendment is strictly to prevent the government from making laws that infringe on people's right to free speech, it doesn't mean "I get to say whatever I like anywhere I like with no repercussions."
Nicholas King
I agree we do need to protect free speech emanating from corporate programs or else the only time you will be able to speak freely in in person or on the phone.
Andrew Bell
Omg yessss then Twitter wont be able to block anyone! Lmaoooo theyre about to fuck themselves HARD
Juan Morris
nobody is stopping you to see shit you dumbass , if you logout from twitter you can see everything
Camden Wright
What fucking morons. He blocked with his person account, not @POTUS Jesus, these fucking dipshits. I swear to God the movie Idiocracy is a prophetic movie.
James Bell
>(((lawyers))) sure thing shekelberg
Owen White
>Interesting, it's likely a win either way So could conservatives who have been subject to twatters new algorithms, audience manipulation, and relegation to certain circles that bring less likes and less interaction with liberal users have a cause of action against twitter if Trump loses?
Jayden Scott
Right, but you're no longer allowed to post in that comment chain. Which since by its nature it has become a public government entity; the first amendment should apply and censorship via blocking from the account would be unconstitutional. It's just an interesting argument is all I'm saying.
Connor Long
this is absurdity at it's finest.
it would be one thing to claim Twitter should be considered a public forum, thereby requiring the government to step in and ensure it allows for freedom of speech, and that is something I would agree with under certain rules.
however saying that *just* the president's twitter is a public forum is more Le Resistance bullshit, and this is most likely a way to get (you)'s for whatever nigger loving kike group is doing it.
Jeremiah Moore
Just end the world.
Juan Evans
Can't trump just invade Twitter? Or at the very least sanction the diamond Don militia to be formed so we can invade Twitter. We should silence communists and laugh while they're accounts get suspended for 12 days after every terrorist attack for preaching acceptance and open borders. They would literally cry themselves to death if they get banned after every attack for promoting the death of your country via multiculturalism and immigration.
Andrew Mitchell
Twitter ToS protects against harassment, so Trump or anyone is within their right to block/mute anyone they want. Their beef should be with twitter not the govt. They are within their right to shit post but it doesn't come without consequences... but that require them to take responsibility for their actions.
Mason Rivera
Twitter is a private corporation, not the property of the government.
Charles Hughes
Where do the lines blur between Trump's rights as a citizen and consumer of Twitter's platform (therefore having access to its functions and subject to its ToS), and his duties as a government official?
Juan Turner
If it's such a big deal then why give him the option to block in the first place?
Kevin Ward
Thats the grownup version of puting your fingers i your ears and yelling shit, how exactly is he using the government to silence the is beyond me. The fuck did you do nigga?
Nathan Sanchez
On a scale of John Smith to Rabbi Schlomo Goldberg, how Jewish are those lawyers?
Adrian Rogers
Blocking someone does not restrict their ability to speak, only your ability to hear them. Is it against the first amendment to wear earmuffs/earplugs in public? Are deaf people automatically breaking the first amendment? No?
This lawyer is fucking trash and will likely be laughed out of court.
Retarded argument. Twitter itself is not even recognized as a free speech platform, because it's private. A twitter handle is even less of a "public forum".
On the other hand this argument could lead to the nationalization of Twitter, which would bail out the shareholders of a company with no profit and no plan to ever make a profit, so we'll see.
Jonathan Reed
Eh I doubt Spicer is the ultimate authority on that, they could probably revise that and say 'our opinions on the matter are evolving' or something
Gabriel Allen
Wait aminit if they push this as free speech issue will that open twatter and the like to be sued for suppression of free speech for people who have right leaning opines? Seriously that cunt bess kald needs to be shot in front of her family
Aaron Clark
Which is why I said if twitter did it, then there's no case. Well i think that's where it becomes an interesting question. Can you really classify a twitter account with 35 million followers as private? Or at that point does it become a public space forum of a government representative?
Brody Kelly
hail mary suit, garbage, nothing will come of it.
Noah Ramirez
public servant
Blake Collins
If they want to read what he says, they can log out. If they want to comment on what he says, they should have been more respectful.
If the president held a public forum in person, and one of those fucks showed up talking the way they tweet, they'd be escorted off the fucking property.
The left has taken leave of their senses.
William Sanchez
wait....so does this mean if some douche wants to stalk his ex girlfriend, she's now the one on civil rights charges? How many of you are blocked by left wing wackos? Lets get a formal list of people on the left who need to face charges.
Lincoln Carter
>there are actual lawyers that think this
wtf
Jose Edwards
>The Knight Institute
Don't you mean The (White) Knight Institute?
Owen Murphy
with the court rulings and lawyers and special commitees. law is kinda starting to look like a joke.
Ryan Fisher
>we do actually severely need some sort of freedom of speech provision to protect the internet against corporate censorship
Point to the ESRB rating and tell those fuckers to fuck off with their "ban" and "censorship" crap. If they hate it so much to take off to some 3rd world country or to invest in their puny private islands to be literally shithole safespaces.
Evan Turner
>they understood that the president must not be allowed to banish views from public discourse simply because he finds them objectionable. Having opened this forum to all comers, the president can’t exclude people from it merely because he dislikes what they’re saying.”
>Still around and still tweeting to Trump >Clearly still allowed to express their views
Now maybe if Twitter were government ran and they completely revoked her access to it on the behest of Trump as he found her comments objectionable, THEN they may have a case. Otherwise this is just literal trash suit cooked up for publicity.
Matthew Thomas
>twitter routinely censors and represses conservative and libertarian tweets >twitter actively promotes left-wing ideas and prioritizes those tweets that share those ideas >get blocked by the president because you're a fucking annoying cunt >I SUE NOW :'(((((((((((
Nathaniel Lopez
wow this is it i can feel it we're gonna get him impeached this is major
Blake Long
This
Ian Clark
>Trump doesn't come to Sup Forums and shitpost with us. Wrong.
Eli Reed
First amendment only applies to Government, you uneducated goober.
Matthew Williams
TRUMP. YOU ARE A XENOPHOBIC RACIST, MISOGYNISTIC, BIGOTED PIG! UNBLOCK MY TWITTER. I HAVE ALREADY SIGNED AND EMAILED THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT TO CONGRESS