Federal judge rules it's unconstitutional for Trump to block people on Twitter

A federal district court judge in New York has ruled it's unconstitutional for President Trump to block users on Twitter. The president's Twitter feed was ruled to be a "public forum," and by blocking users, he is in violation of the First Amendment.

Part of the decision came down to the fact that when Trump blocks a user, they are no longer able to reply to his tweets, Reuters reports. "Once it is a public forum, you can't shut somebody up because you don't like what they're saying," argued U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald earlier this year.

The ruling could potentially have even broader implications:

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Buchwald ultimately ruled that "the viewpoint-based exclusion of the individual plaintiffs from that designated public forum is proscribed by the First Amendment and cannot be justified by the president's personal First Amendment interests." The lawsuit was filed by the Knight First Amendment Institute and Columbia University and a handful of Twitter users. Read the full decision here.