On behalf of those of us still blocked by Trump or politicians, a modest proposal to @jack: disable the block function on the accounts of US elected officials. They are already given special privileges on this website. @Twitter should enforce their special responsibilities 1/.
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Courts also treat the speech of elected officials on sites like
@twitter as special, ruling that because they are government officials they cannot infringe 1stAmdt rights by excluding us from the virtual venue where they make their pronouncements 3/ https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/09/us/politics/trump-twitter-first-amendment.html …Show this thread -
It is not just Trump - courts have consistently ruled that state and local officials cannot block constituents on
@twitter. They can mute (and should if people are being abusive) but cannot block us from the digital town hall that is the replies. 4/ https://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-twitter-facebook-censorship-blocking-government.html …Show this thread -
Here is the problem: if you get blocked by an elected official, and don't want the expense and hassle of bringing them to court - and lets face it, how many people will do that? - you are pretty much out of luck. The law may be on your side, but its not like you can call 911. 5/
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So: rather than relying on court injunctions to help its users, why can't
@twitter proactively adopt the established legal principle that elected officials cannot block members of the public into how it designs its website? 6/Show this thread -
Seems like two pretty straightforward options: a) remove the block function from elected officials OR b) allow the blocked to petition
@twitter to be unblocked in the same way one would report abuse. Maybe obvious legal/software issues I am missing here, so feedback welcome 7/Show this thread -
The status quo is not working: Trump has been told by courts that he cannot block, but many of us remain blocked.
@Twitter can be a good corporate citizen by preventing elected officials from doing something the courts have decided is unconstitutional. Block the blockers! 8/Show this thread
End of conversation
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