Social Media & Government: What Are the Rules of Engagement?

Government entities and elected officials are becoming more accessible and connected to constituents through the ubiquitous use of social media, email, text messaging and other communication technologies. The 21st century question is what may government entities and elected officials do and not do to regulate the public’s participation in their social media accounts? Once social media accounts are used for official business, there may be limited ability to restrict or block users or comments on the accounts.

In the highly anticipated case involving President Trump’s Twitter account, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that the President’s blocking of followers on his @realDonaldTrump account was unconstitutional viewpoint-based discrimination. Deborah Fox, Chair of Meyers Nave’s First Amendment Practice, published an article in the Public Law Journal of the California Lawyers Association that explains the court’s unanimous opinion in Knight First Amendment Institute v. Donald J. Trump. Please click here to read her article.