US Supreme Court considers whether public servants may exclude criticism from social media

The US Supreme Court is grappling with a pair of cases from California and Michigan involving public officials blocking critics on social media, with the justices struggling to define when such conduct runs into constitutional limits on the government’s ability to restrict speech. US Supreme Court weighs if public officials can block critics on social media Lower courts reached different conclusions in the two cases, reflecting the legal uncertainty over whether such social media activity is bound by the US Constitution’s First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech. Blocking users is a function often employed on social media to stifle critics. The justices, hearing about three hours of arguments, focused on spelling out the circumstances for deciding whether public officials were acting in their personal capacity when blocking critics or engaged in a “state action.” The First Amendment constrains government actors but not private individuals.