When can politicians block you on social media?

in #news7 years ago

Donald Trump's habit of blocking people on Twitter has garnered most of the attention, but per the Associated Press, the ACLU has filed lawsuits or sent warning letters to multiple governors and congressmen, too.

Of importance is that, unlike Trump's social media blockings and deletions, at least some of these politicians have rules on their social media accounts that explain what sorts of posts and comments will result in deletion or blocking - typically, these rules cover profanity, insults, obscene comments, and spam.

Why is that important? While there haven't been many court decisions on the subject, a federal district court in Virginia's opinion on the subject is telling of how courts in the future will look at these cases. It seems likely that, similar to other public forums for debate and discussion, as long as politicians establish rules and enforce them evenly, they can delete posts and comments and block abusive users.

What do you think? Should politicians be allowed to control what the public posts on their social media profiles? Does it matter if they, like Trump, have both a "personal account" and an "official account"?

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