A federal court in the US has ruled that Trump cannot shut down his critics on Twitter. A judging panel consisting of three judges and a lower judge said that Trump tries to block his haters he violates his first amendment.
Last year in May, Judge Naomi Reice ruled that the US president was violating the constitutional rights of America as Trump had claimed that he was using a Twitter account just like any other private citizen. The judge ruled that Trump’s Twitter account was supposed to be an official digital forum and that it must remain open to Trump’s allies and critics alike.
The First Amendment does not permit a public official who utilizes a social media account for all manner of official purposes to exclude persons from an otherwise‐open online dialogue because they expressed views with which the official disagrees – Barrington D. Parker, Circuit Judge
The latest ruling came in a case brought by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, on behalf of seven individual Twitter users whom Trump has shut down for making anti-Trump comments. Trump’s the legal team claim that Trump’s Twitter account was established in 2009 when Trump was still a private citizen but as the judges point out that the account has been frequently in use for official presidential proclamations, from announcing presidential appointments to going against the Supreme Court on the Census.
Tuesday’s ruling had marked the latest consideration in the courts as to how the First Amendment applies to social media. Trump now has over 60 million Twitter followers.