When does Twitter-blocking violate the First Amendment?

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 August 2019

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

President Trump can no longer block people on Twitter, following a ruling by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The court held that because President Trump controls access to his @realdonaldtrump Twitter account and uses it for official government purposes, it is a public forum and, under the First Amendment, he cannot block people solely based on their viewpoints. Katie Fallow – one of the lead attorneys who represented the blocked Twitter users in the case – and David French, senior writer at National Review and former First Amendment litigator, debate the merits of the decision as well as its potential impact on future cases. They also explore a similar lawsuit recently filed against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez by people claiming that she unconstitutionally blocked them on Twitter. And, they explain how the Second Circuit’s decision may impact government attempts to regulate social media. Jeffrey Rosen hosts. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and welcome
0:07.7	to We The People, Weekly Show of Constitutional Debate.
0:11.4	The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit chartered by Congress
0:15.8	to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.
0:21.6	The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently decided the case Knight Institute
0:26.5	versus Trump.
0:28.6	That dear we the people listeners, you remember because we discussed it a while ago is a lawsuit filed by Twitter users that were blocked by President Trump.
0:36.0	The court held that the First Amendment prohibits President Trump from blocking people on Twitter based on their viewpoints.
0:42.0	There's been a similar lawsuit filed recently
0:44.1	against Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasia Cortez
0:48.1	by people claiming that she blocked them
0:51.0	unconscionally on Twitter.
0:52.8	And joining us to unpack these two cases
0:55.3	and explore a digital speech, public fora,
0:57.4	and the First Amendment are two of America's
0:59.8	leading First Amendment experts,
1:01.4	joining for a rematch for our discussion of the earlier district court version of this case.
1:07.2	I'm so thrilled to have both of them back.
1:10.0	Katie Fallow is a senior attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University
1:15.2	and was one of the lead attorneys representing the Block Twitter users and the Knight Institute
1:19.8	in Knight Institute versus Trump.
1:21.9	She was previously a partner
	...

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