Public Officials and Social Media
Melinda Beck

Blog

Public Officials and Social Media

Through groundbreaking litigation such as Knight Institute v. Trump—a lawsuit challenging former President Trump's practice of blocking critics from his Twitter account—the Institute has been instrumental in establishing a basic principle: once public officials open up an online space for expressive activity to the public at large, the First Amendment prohibits them from excluding speakers on the basis of viewpoint. Courts throughout the country have invoked this case to preclude other public officials from silencing their social media critics. 

This blog channel highlights the Institute’s ongoing work in this area and explores the many challenging First Amendment questions that continue to emerge. 

Research

Essay Series

The Future of Press Freedom: Democracy, Law, and the News in Changing Times

A project aimed at identifying and protecting core press functions

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Event

Event

State of Silence: The Espionage Act, Politics, and Press Freedom

A panel discussion and Q&A on the Espionage Act

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Reading Room

Privacy & Surveillance

Ideological Screening at the Border

Documents released in our FOIA lawsuit for records on the "extreme vetting" program

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Podcast

Podcast

Views on First

What happens when social media collides with the First Amendment? 

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