First Amendment Lawyers Warn AOC About Blocking Twitter Critics
A public interest group specializing in First Amendment issues warned Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that blocking users from her @AOC Twitter account is, in their view, unlawful.
The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University told the congresswoman that blocking social media critics constitutes unlawful viewpoint discrimination in an Aug. 28 letter.
“Multiple courts have held that public officials’ social media accounts constitute public forums when they are used in the way that you use the @AOC account, and they have made clear that public officials violate the First Amendment when they block users from these forums on the basis of viewpoint,” the letter reads.
The freshman Democrat has argued that the @AOC handle is a personal social media account, as opposed to her @RepAOC account.
“While we understand that you have another account that is nominally your ‘official’ one, the fact remains that you use the @AOC account as an extension of your office,” the letter reads. “Notably, the Second Circuit rejected President Trump’s argument that his account is a personal one even though he has other accounts — @POTUS and @WhiteHouse — that are nominally official.”
The congresswoman responded on Twitter, falsely asserting that the Daily Caller published photographs depicting her in the nude.
1. I have 5.2 million followers. Less than 20 accounts are blocked for ongoing harassment. 0 are my constituents.
2. Harassment is not a viewpoint. Some accounts, like the Daily Caller, posted fake nude photos of me & abused my comments to spread it. No one is entitled to abuse. https://t.co/0QWKqJFzRe
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 29, 2019
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in July that it is unconstitutional for President Donald Trump to block critics on Twitter. Like Ocasio-Cortez, the president argued that he is at liberty to block whoever he likes from his personal @realDonaldTrump account. The Knight Center represented the plaintiffs in that lawsuit.
The 2nd Circuit ruled for the plaintiffs. The three-judge panel said the digital space attending each tweet, where users can post responses and interact with one another, is a public forum where the First Amendment applies. A public forum is a space where free speech protections are at their highest.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org
Is there any way we can eliminate hearing about AOC, The clueless one.
Actually I am in favor of keeping her in the spotlight. Doing shows just how far left the Demorrhoid party has gone.
LIEberals have tilted so far left they are about to fall over. Power is their drug of choice and since they no longer have power they are in severe withdrawals. Those fools who support or aid these Leftopathic clowns are signing their own death warrant!!!
LIEberal Democrats are power hungry morons without power. In order for them to create the illusion of having power they need to amass themselves to maintain the appearance of strength. This insipid and misguided left wing politically correct idiot-ology is playing with fire by people who don’t know that fire is hot!!
Some of them might realize this yet cannot help themselves because they are in need of their drug and much the same as any addict, will do anything and at any cost to satisfy their cravings!! If it weren’t so sad it would be comical. No wait it is nothing close to being sad in fact it’s a Hilarious relief for they are about to go the way of the Do-Do or Henry Clay’s Whig Party!!!
The best argument against the Demorrhoidic Party is a five second conversation with the average Socialist LIEberal
Agreed, keep her in the limelight. The more she says (those others also) the deeper she/they go.