Court orders Donald Trump to unblock critics on Twitter
It was ruled that blocking people from the @realDonaldTrump account violated First Amendment free speech rights.
By PTI |
Agencies
SAN FRANCISCO: More critics of US Donald Trump found themselves unblocked from his Twitter account, in keeping with a court ruling that he can't shut out opposing viewpoints. A federal district court judge in May ruled that blocking people from the president's @realDonaldTrump account violated First Amendment free speech rights in a case brought by The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.
The seven people named in the suit were unblocked as the decision was appealed.
The institute tweeted yesterday that it had gotten word that many people on a list of 41 more Twitter users it had given to the Department of Justice had also been unblocked by @realDonaldTrump.
Christine Teigen
Unlike some, Teigen, it seems, knows what exactly enraged the President enough to block her. It was this tweet — “Lollll. No one likes you.” Teigen’s tweet was in response to Trump’s tweet stating, “It’s very sad that Republicans, even some that were carried over the line on my back, do very little to protect their President.” Sharing a screenshot of the message that she has been blocked by Trump, she tweeted, “After 9 years of hating Donald J Trump, telling him ‘lol no one likes you’ was the straw.” Clearly, she hurt his feelings real bad.
(Image: Instagram/chrissyteigen)
"We're pleased to see the White House take steps to comply with the district court's ruling that the First Amendment prohibits the president from blocking Twitter users simply because they have criticized him," the institute said.
"However, we continue to receive reports that individuals beyond those we identified remain blocked from the @realDonaldTrump account." The institute argued that it was incumbent on the White House to immediately unblock any Twitter users shut off from the president's account because of political viewpoints.
The seven people named in the suit were unblocked as the decision was appealed.
The institute tweeted yesterday that it had gotten word that many people on a list of 41 more Twitter users it had given to the Department of Justice had also been unblocked by @realDonaldTrump.
Unlike some, Teigen, it seems, knows what exactly enraged the President enough to block her. It was this tweet — “Lollll. No one likes you.” Teigen’s tweet was in response to Trump’s tweet stating, “It’s very sad that Republicans, even some that were carried over the line on my back, do very little to protect their President.” Sharing a screenshot of the message that she has been blocked by Trump, she tweeted, “After 9 years of hating Donald J Trump, telling him ‘lol no one likes you’ was the straw.” Clearly, she hurt his feelings real bad.
(Image: Instagram/chrissyteigen)
"We're pleased to see the White House take steps to comply with the district court's ruling that the First Amendment prohibits the president from blocking Twitter users simply because they have criticized him," the institute said.
"However, we continue to receive reports that individuals beyond those we identified remain blocked from the @realDonaldTrump account." The institute argued that it was incumbent on the White House to immediately unblock any Twitter users shut off from the president's account because of political viewpoints.
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The Justice Department in June vowed to appeal the ruling, which the institute expressed confidence in defending. Download
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