Twitter Users Sue Trump For Blocking Them

Seven critics of President Donald Trump who say they were blocked by him on Twitter are suing to restore their access to his account on the microblogging service.

The critics, along with Columbia University's Knight First Amendment Institute, allege that their free-speech rights were violated when they were excluded from the Twitter account.

"President Trump’s Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, has become an important source of news and information about the government, and an important public forum for speech by, to, and about the President," they allege in a complaint filed against Trump on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. "In an effort to suppress dissent in this forum, Defendants have excluded -- 'blocked' -- Twitter users who have criticized the President or his policies. This practice is unconstitutional, and this suit seeks to end it."

The users argue that Trump's Twitter account is a "public forum," meaning it's comparable to city streets or public parks -- locales where the government can't censor speech based on people's viewpoints.

"The President’s tweets routinely generate tens of thousands of comments in the vibrant discussion forums," the complaint alleges. "The President’s advisors have stated that tweets from @realDonaldTrump are 'official statements,' and they have been treated as such by politicians, world leaders, the National Archive and Records Administration, and federal courts."

The seven Twitter users who were blocked say that they have been "prevented or impeded from viewing the President’s tweets, from replying to the tweets, from viewing the discussions associated with the tweets, and from participating in those discussions."

In addition to Trump, the users are also suing White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Director of Social Media Daniel Scavino.

Twitter users who are blocked from Trump's account can't view the tweets or replies while logged in. But if those users sign out of Twitter, they may still be able to view the posts. Blocked users are also restricted from commenting in some threads -- though there are workarounds.

The people who are suing allege that the Twitter block amounts to "an unconstitutional restriction on their participation in a designated public forum," as well as an unconstitutional restriction on their right to access statements and to petition the government.

They are asking a judge to declare the blocks unconstitutional, and to order the White House to unblock them.

The cases raises questions about whether media sites are "public forums."

While that issue is fairly new, at least one federal judge recently ruled that a Facebook page can serve as a "limited" public forum. In that matter, a judge in Alexandria, Va. said that the Loudon County Board of Supervisors may have violated the First Amendment by allegedly deleting critical Facebook comments from a page created by the board. In that case, which is still pending, the county expressly said the purpose of its social media sites was to present matters of interest to the public, and the county encouraged people to weigh in on social media with questions and comments.

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