On Tuesday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Donald Trump was not allowed to block users on his Twitter account. The court ruled that it violated the constitution because Trump uses his Twitter account to conduct government business.
Trump has been known to block his critics on Twitter. Many people felt that it violated freedom of speech to be blocked for expressing an opposing view and to be kept from further engagement.
Trump is not the only person getting called out for blocking their critics. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez-Cortez, commonly known as AOC, is being sued for blocking her critics on Twitter. In reaction to the court ruling, Dov Hikind, an advocate for Jewish causes and the State of Israel, sued AOC on July 9th, for blocking him on the social media website.
In his lawsuit, Hikind compared Twitter to public forums of the past where citizens were allowed to engage. He also states that by blocking people on Twitter she is suppressing opposing views.
Trump and AOC may be polar opposites on all political fronts, but on social media they have a lot more in common. They both are popular political faces that represent the direction of their party. Due to their popularity they both receive a lot of criticism, threats, and hateful comments.
With all the negativity and backlash each politician receives it can be obvious why they would want to block Twitter users. There is nothing constructive about online bullying. However, it seems that both parties were blocking users for just having opposing views.
Rebecca Buckwalter was blocked back in 2017 for replying to one of Trump's tweets. Trump had tweeted about the mainstream media and that he would not have won if he relied on them. Buckwalter responded, "To be fair you didn't win the WH: Russia won it for you."
Hikind was recently blocked by AOC after she had tweeted comparing migrant camps to concentration camps. Hikind responded complaining about the comparison and was promptly blocked.
The courts ruling will have an impact on the way that politicians handle social media. It may also open the doors for new regulations on the wild wild web.
