NEW YORK: A United States (US) judge ruled on Wednesday that President Donald Trump may not legally block Twitter users from his account on the social media platform based on their political views.
Trump has made his @RealDonaldTrump Twitter account an integral and controversial part of his presidency, using it to promote his agenda, announce policy and attack critics. He has blocked many critics from his account, which prevents them from directly responding to his tweets.
US District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald ruled that comments on the president’s account, and those of other government officials, were public forums and that blocking Twitter users for their views violated their right to free speech under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
Eugene Volokh, a University of California Los Angeles School of Law professor who specializes in First Amendment issues, said the decision’s effect would reach beyond Trump.”
“It would end up applying to a wide range of government officials throughout the country,” he added.
Cohen, who was blocked from Trump’s account last June after posting an image of the president with the words “Corrupt Incompetent Authoritarian,” said he was “delighted” with Wednesday’s decision.
“This increases my faith in the system a little,” he also said.
Buchwald stopped short of ordering Trump to unblock users. Trump had argued that the court did not have the power to issue a direct order against the president.
