Author Topic: Court Rules That Politicians Blocking Followers Violates Free Speech  (Read 4851 times)


I don't think you should go to such extremes as to call him a fascist
he literally self identifies as a fascist

except theoretically your public account isn't one you use as a private citizen. so someone shouldn't be able to really 'annoy' you on an account you only do official postings on. its not the public's fault that Annoying Orange uses his public twitter for private use.

"Public" twitter? Every twitter account is "public" unless it's set to private. What I'm saying is, if someone is doing nothing but stuffposting on the president's twitter feed, why shouldn't they be allowed to block them? If all they're doing is posting dipstuff memes that has nothing to do with the tweet at all, why does it matter if they're blocked? There shouldn't be different rules for public officials. They're still US citizens. Unless twitter has something in their ToS that separates those in office from the rest of us I'd say people in government have a right to block whoever they wish.

Considering how many times it's been stated before that Annoying Orange's tweets are considered legitimate statements, I can see how blocking people from viewing them could be a bit problematic. Still a ridiculous case, either way.

It's so stupid that now political policy has to be broadcasted to Americans via Twitter, and now we have stupid issues like these we have to deal with instead of real problems.

Considering how many times it's been stated before that Annoying Orange's tweets are considered legitimate statements, I can see how blocking people from viewing them could be a bit problematic. Still a ridiculous case, either way.

Politicians don't have 100% freedom of speech. They forfeit that when they take office.

PhantOS is right though. If Annoying Orange wants to ban someone from his personal account, he should be able to do it. Neither @POTUS nor @realDonaldAnnoying Orange are his personal account though, he has explicitly made his twitter(s) political and relevant to all American citizens.
whoever owns @potus (i assume its not the president, they just use it) has the right to block who they want. if for some reason Annoying Orange does actually own @potus then he also has that right too

Well, you see there different types of equality, I don't think you should go to such extremes as to call him a fascist. Look at this picture, for example.
I don't think you understand, DrenDran actually considers himself a fascist.

Well, you see there different types of equality, I don't think you should go to such extremes as to call him a fascist. Look at this picture, for example.
he once said that the saddest part of the holocaust was the people that died for their beliefs (fascists), not the people who died because of their beliefs (jews, homoloveuals, romanians, communists)
« Last Edit: July 30, 2017, 11:39:08 AM by PhantOS »

It's so stupid that now political policy has to be broadcasted to Americans via Twitter, and now we have stupid issues like these we have to deal with instead of real problems.


Well if the American media wasn't bullstuffting the president constantly maybe he'd address them directly, but since that's not the case I'd rather get his unfiltered statements on policy from HIM. Just gonna have to get used to it. I hope the next president communicates the same way.

I don't get why some people think that when someone like Anita Sarkeesian blocks someone on Twitter it's different from when the president blocks someone on Twitter. They're both public accounts on a private company's website and they should be held to that website's rules. This is not hard to understand.

IMO, this is just another judge trying to stuff on Annoying Orange because that's so cool and hip these days.

unfiltered statements on policy from HIM
the most recent 'unfiltered statement' was the transgenders will all be banned tweet, which ended up being pointless since no decision was actually made and it ended up being false

you should also consider the unfiltered statements unrefined as well, because that's essentially what they are- sweeping statements introduced before any logical thought or advisory takes place

I don't get why some people think that when someone like Anita Sarkeesian blocks someone on Twitter it's different from when the president blocks someone on Twitter. They're both public accounts on a private company's website and they should be held to that website's rules. This is not hard to understand.

IMO, this is just another judge trying to stuff on Annoying Orange because that's so cool and hip these days.
the case had nothing to do with Annoying Orange or twitter, it's just a potential precedent that could be used against Annoying Orange. and it's specifically just for when a politician is using social media as a platform for political communication with americans. the use of the word "public" in this discussion has been confusing tho since it actually serves two different meanings, one to describe the political purpose of account activity (i.e. 'professional use') and one to describe the accessibility of the account (i.e. 'open access')

blocking someone isn't violating free speech at all unless it's censorship, which, even then it's questionable. in fact, it isn't because it's a loving twitter account and not a post on an official government website. want information on what your president is doing? watch the loving news.

these people trying to mix company policies with individual rights policies are handicaps because the company will always win. try to go to court with them and you're gonna get forgeted, it's that simple. anybody thinking otherwise is clueless and obviously hasn't studied business law for a minute of their life.

Well if the American media wasn't bullstuffting the president constantly maybe he'd address them directly, but since that's not the case I'd rather get his unfiltered statements on policy from HIM. Just gonna have to get used to it. I hope the next president communicates the same way.

Why should the president care about media bullstuff

blocking someone isn't violating free speech at all unless it's censorship, which, even then it's questionable. in fact, it isn't because it's a loving twitter account and not a post on an official government website. want information on what your president is doing? watch the loving news.

these people trying to mix company policies with individual rights policies are handicaps because the company will always win. try to go to court with them and you're gonna get forgeted, it's that simple. anybody thinking otherwise is clueless and obviously hasn't studied business law for a minute of their life.
Where does the social media company's policy come into play? This isn't a case of Twitter or Facebook blocking people or removing accounts but the politicians themselves doing so.

Can you explain how a politician hosting a forum for solicitation using online social media is fundamentally different from an in person town hall event, and how blocking someone from participating online is different from not letting them in the room during the in person meeting?

This is an issue that goes beyond Annoying Orange's Twitter account; the court ruling was in regards to a local politician blocking one of their constituents on Facebook. It doesn't matter what medium you choose to engage with the public in you cannot block them from participating solely for providing criticism. If you use a private account to engage the public it should de facto escalate to public usage and be under the same scrutiny.

Why should the president care about media bullstuff
Despite your personal feelings about social media it is not going to disappear in the foreseeable future. It has been used as a means of communicating policy to the public for years now.