Why Donald Trump can’t block his Twitter followers
Federal judge rules that everyone has right to reply to @realDonaldTrump under First Amendment

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
President Donald Trump’s habit of blocking dissenting voices on Twitter is in violation of US citizens’ First Amendment rights, a US federal court has ruled.
A lawsuit was brought against the president by seven Twitter users including a Texas police officer, a New York comedy writer and a Nashville surgeon, The New York Times reports. They argued that Trump’s Twitter feed, which has more than 52 million followers, is an official government account and that as such, preventing users from following it was unconstitutional.
In her ruling on Wednesday, Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald stated that “no government official - including the president - is above the law, and all government officials are presumed to follow the law as has been declared”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
She added: “We hold that portions of the @realDonaldTrump account - the ‘interactive space’ where Twitter users may directly engage with the content of the president’s tweets - are properly analysed under the ‘public forum’ doctrines set forth by the Supreme Court, that such space is a designated public forum, and that the blocking of the plaintiffs based on their political speech constitutes viewpoint discrimination that violates the First Amendment.”
However, Buchwald did not demand Trump unblock any users that are currently prohibited from accessing his profile, saying that her “declaratory judgment should be sufficient”.
The Knight Institute, a Columbia University-based organisation that defends free speech, filed the suit on behalf of the seven Twitter users, who were all blocked by Trump.
Applauding the verdict, Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the institute, said: “We’re pleased with the court’s decision, which reflects a careful application of core First Amendment principles to government censorship on a new communications platform. The president’s practice of blocking critics on Twitter is pernicious and unconstitutional, and we hope this ruling will bring it to an end.”
Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza, a legal analyst from Washington DC and one of the plaintiffs in the case, tweeted on Wednesday: “I sued the President, and I won.”
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Texas and Yelp are suing each other over crisis pregnancy centers
Talking Point A battle over free speech and abortion rights heads to court
By Joel Mathis Published
-
Dianne Feinstein, history-making Democratic US senator, dies at 90
The Explainer Her colleagues celebrate her legacy as a trailblazer who cleared the path for other women to follow
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Why is the government on the brink of a shutdown?
Today's Big Question GOP infighting is bringing the country to a standstill, but even Republicans aren't entirely sure why
By Rafi Schwartz Published
-
Will Musk's rebranding ruin Twitter?
Talking Point Is Musk dooming his own company by scrapping its valuable brand, or is it all leading to something bigger?
By Harold Maass Published
-
Twitter to X and five other controversial rebrands from history
Under the Radar Elon Musk’s decision joins a long list of derided company changes
By Rebekah Evans Published
-
Elon Musk announces change to Twitter logo
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Threads: will privacy fears scupper Meta’s Twitter ‘killer’?
Under the Radar Mark Zuckerberg’s new Threads app has launched but data protection rules mean it isn’t yet available in the EU
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet Published
-
Twitter has reportedly threatened to sue Meta over Threads
Speed Read
By Brigid Kennedy Published
-
Will Threads kill Twitter?
Today's Big Question Meta just launched its own microblogging app directly positioned to take down the blue bird
By Brigid Kennedy Published
-
Tweet of clay: will Twitter’s demise bring down Elon Musk?
Talking Point Controversial rate limits come as Meta prepares to launch its rival to the social media platform
By Sorcha Bradley Published
-
How greater online regulation is prompting fears of a ‘splinternet’
feature Government pressure worldwide means the internet is not as open as it once was
By Sorcha Bradley Published