Federal Court: Public Officials Cannot Block Social Media Users Because of Their Criticism

[ABX]

Does the First Amendment bar public officials from blocking people on social media because of their viewpoint?

That question has hung over the White House ever since Donald Trump assumed the presidency and continued to block users on Twitter. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University has sued the president on behalf of blocked users, spurring a lively academic debate on the topic. But Trump isn’t the only politician who has blocked people on social media.....

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2017/07/28/federal_court_rules_public_officials_cannot_block_social_media_users.html

[Maj. Bill Martin]

That's a ridiculous decision.  The First Amendment says that the law can't abridged freedom of speech.  Twitter is a private service, and politicians should be as free as other citizens to restrict with whom they communicate.   If it is perfectly legal for them to refuse to take a question from a particular person -- which it clearly is -- why should they be forced to listen to them on twitter?

[darroll]

Yea, But,
You can post your criticism.
Only you will be able to read it.
(I verified this by having a friend see if I posted anything and he said no, I did not post a reply)

[GrouchoTex]

That's a ridiculous decision.  The First Amendment says that the law can't abridged freedom of speech.  Twitter is a private service, and politicians should be as free as other citizens to restrict with whom they communicate.   If it is perfectly legal for them to refuse to take a question from a particular person -- which it clearly is -- why should they be forced to listen to them on twitter?

I agree.
You have the right to say it.
I, also, have the right not to listen to it.