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First Amendment › Free Speech › Public Officials

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the government from making laws respecting the establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech... more +
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the government from making laws respecting the establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech or the press, preventing citizens from peacefully assembling, or interfering with citizens' ability to petition the government for redress of their grievances. The First Amendment is one of the most sacred aspects of the American legal tradition and has spawned a vast body of jurisprudence and commentary. less -
Epstein Becker & Green

Two Down, 12 to Go, and Two More Decision Days This Week - SCOTUS Today

Epstein Becker & Green on

The Supreme Court started yesterday with 14 decisions yet to deliver and only reduced the number by two—neither of them the Trump immunity case nor the Loper case concerning the future of the agency deference doctrine of...more

McGuireWoods LLP

U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Whether School Board Members May Block Parents on Social Media

McGuireWoods LLP on

As social media and K-12 education issues continue to evolve, on April 24, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in a case concerning an interesting, yet important issue: Under the First Amendment, when can elected...more

Allen Matkins

Is The California Secretary of State Monitoring What You Publish Online?

Allen Matkins on

In 2018, the California legislature established a "ministry of truth" within the California Secretary of State's office - the Office of Elections Cybersecurity.  By statute, the OEC has a duty “to monitor and counteract false...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP - Left Coast Appeals

This Week At The Ninth: The First Amendment and Disability Rights in the OC

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This week, the Court addresses whether the dismissal of a volunteer member of a municipal advisory board implicates the First Amendment and considers a challenge to zoning ordinances designed to limit sober living homes. ...more

Saiber LLC

The Supreme Court Gets a Second Shot at an Important First Amendment and Social Media Issue

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The May 10, 2021 post The Donald Trump Twitter Case: Vacated and Dismissed as Moot by the Supreme Court reported how the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed Knight First Amendment Inst. at Columbia University v. Trump, in which the...more

Saiber LLC

The Donald Trump Twitter Case: Vacated and Dismissed as Moot by the Supreme Court

Saiber LLC on

The June 14, 2018 post “The President May Not Block Twitter Followers Because They Disagree With Him Politically” reported how the District Court in Knight First Amendment Inst. at Columbia University v. Trump, 302 F.Supp.3d...more

Jackson Walker

The Gray Area of Social Media: When Politics and Democracy Collide

Jackson Walker on

Widely considered a star of social media, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez backed down from a Twitter fight in the form of a lawsuit filed by one of her Twitter followers. The suit, filed by former New York assemblyman Dov Hikind,...more

Best Best & Krieger LLP

President’s Twitter Use a Cautionary Tale for Public Officials

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The First Amendment continues to evolve to ensure speakers remain protected. This was recently substantiated by the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling in Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University,...more

Nossaman LLP

Trump's Tweets: A Warning That Public Officials' Personal Social Media Posts Might Actually Be The Government's

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A recent federal appeals court decision, Knight First Amendment Institute v. Trump, concluded that action taken by the President through the use of his personal, not just official White House, Twitter account was considered...more

Pillsbury - Internet & Social Media Law Blog

The “Commander-in-Tweet” Returns: When a Social Media Account Creates a Public Forum, Critics Get to Stay

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Two years ago, we wrote about a possible First Amendment challenge involving Donald Trump’s practice of blocking certain Twitter users from his @realDonaldTrump account. ...more

Best Best & Krieger LLP

President Trump Can’t Block Twitter Users, U.S. Appellate Court Rules

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The court concluded its opinion with an observation that at this time in history, “wide-open, robust debate” is the best assurance of good government. The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled last week that public...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Second Circuit Affirms That President Trump Cannot Block Critics on Twitter

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati on

In a closely watched case, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held on July 8, 2019 that President Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking disfavored users on his @RealDonaldTrump Twitter account. This important...more

Hogan Lovells

Practical Pointers: Social Media Guidelines for Public Officials (and the People who Advise Them)

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Social media has transformed the ways legislators and their staff interact with constituents. Through social media platforms, our elected officials share insights into the legislative process, communicate with constituents,...more

Franczek P.C.

Key Lessons for School Officials and Other Public Employees from Recent Court Decision on Trump’s Twitter Account

Franczek P.C. on

As technology and social media continue to develop, so do legal questions surrounding their use by public entities and employees. On July 9, 2019, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Knight First Amendment Institute v....more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Second Circuit Holds That Blocking Users’ Access To Presidential Twitter Account Violates First Amendment

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP on

On July 9, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the First Amendment prohibits the government from blocking social media users from accessing the Twitter account @realDonaldTrump. See Knight First...more

Best Best & Krieger LLP

The Public Square Has Gone Online - BB&K Attorneys Christine Wood And HongDao Nguyen Write About Public Officials’ Social Media...

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Social media is the modern-day public square. Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms have effectively harnessed technology to turn communication into an interactive dialogue — fundamentally shifting the way...more

Jackson Walker

The First Amendment and Social Media Commentary

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Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter typically allow users to delete unwanted commentary or block others with whom they disagree from posting on the user’s page or post. The subject matter of the offending...more

Best Best & Krieger LLP

“Protected Activity” Rejected by California Appellate Court Under Anti-SLAPP Statute - School District Officials’ and Board...

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How and where public officials share information is critical to whether the dissemination is “protected activity” under California’s anti-Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation statute, an appellate court has found....more

Best Best & Krieger LLP

How a Court’s Decision that the President Can’t Block Twitter Users Impacts Public Officials - First Amendment Issues and Social...

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If a public official creates a public forum from his or her social media account — even if the account was established before taking office — the official cannot block people from the account in response to the person...more

Tucker Arensberg, P.C.

Federal Court rules that Elected Official Violated First Amendment when Banning Commenter on the Official’s Public Facebook Page

Tucker Arensberg, P.C. on

The District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued a recent decision that that should remind public officials and employees that if they have social media websites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), the websites may be...more

Best Best & Krieger LLP

Officials’ Top 10 Things to Remember About Public Participation in Local Government

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As the national political climate heated up recently, some local governments are facing spillover effects, with local and sometimes even out-of-town activists and provocateurs attending city council, school board and other...more

Jackson Walker

John Edwards argues before the Texas Supreme Court on important libel case that started in 2003

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Houston partner John K. Edwards recently argued before the Texas Supreme Court on behalf of a newspaper and reporter in an important libel case that started in 2003 concerning an article published in a Fort Bend County...more

Jackson Walker

Paul Watler Speaks: Texas Supreme Court Opinions Firm Up Anti-SLAPP Rights For Online Journalists

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Online journalists and scholars from the Americas and around the globe recently gathered at the University of Texas at Austin to assess the state of internet-based journalism. The keynote address of the 16th annual...more

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