Twitter users block people all the time. President Trump, who has many critics (and admirers) on Twitter, does, too. Does he have a right to?
The Knight First Amendment Institute says no, because he’s president and because of the First Amendment.
Tuesday, the institute sent a letter to the president asking him to unblock his critics on Twitter or risk facing legal action.
“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,” said Jameel Jaffer, the Knight Institute’s executive director, in a statement about the letter. “Having opened this forum to all comers, the President can’t exclude people from it merely because he dislikes what they’re saying.”
In his letter, Jaffer says he is representing individuals who were blocked by Trump because they “disagreed with, criticized, or mocked you or your actions as President.” He called for the immediate unblocking of the accounts of the individuals being represented by the institute.
The letter comes amid an increased spotlight on the tweets of the president, which spokesman Sean Spicer on Tuesday called “official statements.” Trump rode his Twitter account to the presidency but his use of the platform has become increasingly controversial.
For one thing, his tweets sometimes contradict the official White House line, which experts say could harm his presidency. For example, with the Supreme Court set to consider the administration’s push for immigration restrictions, Trump — much to the delight of the other side, such as the ACLU — tweeted Monday:
People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
Now, even his blocking of fellow Twitter users is under fire. The Knight Institute, a non-partisan organization dedicated to defending free speech in the digital age, in its statement Tuesday suggested it would pursue legal action if Trump does not unblock people on Twitter.
The letter said Twitter users’ free-speech rights are being affected because their ability to see and comment on the president’s tweets are restricted when they are blocked by Trump.
It is unclear how much time the Knight Institute is giving the Trump administration to respond.
SiliconBeat’s request for comment to the institute has not yet been returned.
Photo: President Donald Trump reacts after addressing a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. (Jim Lo Scalzo/pool image via AP)
June 07, 2017 at 09:27PM
from Levi Sumagaysay
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