Supreme Court Allows Officials to Block Detractors on Social Media

The Supreme Court ruled last week that public officials may block people on social media, in certain circumstances, after hearing a case from California and another from Michigan.  The ruling tossed aside challenges against government officials in those states who blocked followers who were critical of them on Facebook and other social media platforms. The court’s unanimous decision was written by Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.  

The decision read in part, “When a government official posts about job-related topics on social media, it can be difficult to tell whether the speech is official or private.  We hold that such speech is attributable to the State only if the official (1) possessed actual authority to speak on the State’s behalf, and (2) purported to exercise that authority when he spoke on social media.” Elected officials regularly communicate with voters on social media and the issue saw its way to the highest court in the nation because it raises important First Amendment questions.  

Some believe that members of the public should have the ability to openly criticize government officials on social media while others believe social media pages are the property of individual elected leaders and therefore, can be moderated by the officials themselves. 

The issue becomes particularly difficult to navigate because it can be unclear when an elected official is posting to social media in a private capacity or when the communication is an extension of their governmental duties.  The social media pages of officials often mix personal posts with fundraising appeals that are non-governmental with communications that are an extension of their public duties. The court ruling determined that when speech by government officials can be attributed to the state it is subject to First Amendment scrutiny only if the official involved has the authority to speak on the state’s behalf and if the official is exercising that authority on the social media platform.  If those specific conditions are not met, then officials are free to block detractors from commenting on social media posts.