The Knight Institute joined in the filing of a consolidated amicus brief in both Lindke v. Freed and O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier, two Supreme Court cases addressing the state action doctrine in the context of public officials’ use of social media accounts. This brief argued that the Supreme Court should affirm the Ninth Circuit’s decision. Government officials and agencies use social media extensively to communicate with constituents, provide important public notices, and debate key policy and political issues. These are vital spaces for public discourse, and in order to protect the public’s right to engage with each other and with government representatives, the Knight Institute argued that the Court should adopt a functional approach to the state action test that asks when a social media account is used in furtherance of government duties.

On March 15, 2024, the Supreme Court articulated a new state action test in its opinion in Lindke, and vacated the Ninth Circuit’s earlier opinion in Garnier. Now on remand, the Ninth Circuit must determine whether the school board trustees in this case spoke on behalf of the government in running their social media pages. The Knight Institute, along with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, filed an amicus brief clarifying the Supreme Court’s decision and urging the court to conclude that state action is present.

Status: Amicus brief filed August 1, 2024.

Case Information: O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier, No. 22-611 (Supreme Court); Garnier v. O’Connor Ratcliff, Nos. 21-55118, 21-55157 (9th Cir.)