US Supreme Court to decide whether First Amendment prevents government officials from blocking social media critics

The US Supreme Court said it will decide whether the Constitution’s First Amendment prevents government officials from blocking social media criticisms on online platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. The justices took up two appeal cases, including one against public school officials in California who blocked two parents on Facebook and Twitter due to racist comments and the handling of school finances. The federal judge found that there has been a violation under the Frist Amendment as the school board account has been presented as a public communication platform.

The second lawsuit was against a city manager in Michigan who blocked an individual on his public Facebook page due to controversial COVID-19 posts. Here, the federal judge in Michigan did not find a violation as it was concluded that the city manager was not acting in an official capacity.

Thus, the Supreme Court will have to address the two tests applied in the cases to determine whether the blockage of online users from commenting on government officials’ social media pages violates the freedom of speech under the First Amendment.