The United States Supreme Court has ruled on a case regarding government officials’ censorship of American citizens on social media.
The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court just issued a ruling in an important First Amendment case, Lindke v. Freed.
At issue in this case was whether public officials violate the U.S. Constitution when they block constituents on social media, according to ABC News.
The justices did issue a unanimous decision.
However, they did not give a clear-cut, “yes” or “no” ruling.
Rather, they put forth a test that lower courts can use to judge whether or not a public official violates the U.S. Constitution when they block constituents on social media.
Whether or not the blockage is Constitutional, depends on whether the official is acting in his or her official capacity or whether the official is acting personally, according to the justices.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote:
“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