Issue
The First Amendment protects speech on social media platforms that have been designated as public forums by government officials or agencies. Government officials cannot block individuals from accessing their social media pages simply because the government dislikes or disagrees with their speech. Read more about our work protecting citizen speech here.
The University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic is litigating a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Morrow, Georgia for blocking Aaron Booterbaugh from the City’s Facebook Page after he posted comments critical of the City’s Mayor and City Manager.
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Speaking to audiences on both coasts, Clinic director Clare R. Norins and Clinic attorney Samantha Hamilton respectively unpacked some of the digital free speech issues to be decided during the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023-2024 term.
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During the Fall 2023 semester, the University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic trained students, journalists, local officials, law enforcement, and engaged citizens on a variety of speech and media law topics.
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The article posits that ambiguities in how government officials use their private campaign social media accounts after winning election should be resolved in favor of finding the First Amendment applies.
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After receiving a demand letter from the University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office restored Mrs. Traci Hollingsworth’s access to their official Facebook page from which she had been blocked for over two years.
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The First Amendment Clinic settled a lawsuit against Douglas County Commissioner Kelly G. Robinson for blocking a county resident from his interactive Facebook page that he used to communicate with the public about his official activities after she criticized his response to constituent concerns.
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A critical mass of courts — including the three Circuit Court of Appeals to have so far addressed the issue — find that it constitutes unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment for a public official who operates an interactive social media account in their capacity as a state actor to deny individuals access to that account based on dislike of or disagreement with their speech.
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On September 17, 2020, the First Amendment Clinic presented to over 100 Georgia municipal attorneys on the current state of the law regarding public officials blocking constituents on social media.
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