As we have seen in the past 185 days he has been in office, President Trump loves to tweet. All. The. Time. However, as he has been receiving political backlash, the President has been blocking those on Twitter who have tweeted negative comments about him. As a response, a group of Twitter users who have been blocked by the President, are suing him, arguing that he cannot bar people from engaging with his account just because they express opinions he doesn’t like.I completely agree that Trump does not have the right to block citizens on Twitter. It seems that President Trump has chosen Twitter to be his primary mode of communication with the public, and that he uses his account to communicate news and information to citizens. Because Trump is constantly tweeting, his account has become like a public forum. I believe that the President is being too sensitive about comments being made on Twitter, and if he doesn’t like the feedback, then he shouldn’t use Twitter so much. The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights is the freedom of speech, and I believe that Trump blocking people on Twitter is a violation of our right to voice our opinions, whether the President agrees with them or not. I also disagree with arguments that Trump can block people because he uses his personal account. The President chooses to use his personal Twitter and not the POTUS account.
I am interested to hear other thoughts and opinions!
Works Cited
Savage, Charlie. "Twitter Users Blocked by Trump File Constitutional Lawsuit." The New York Times. The New York Times, 11 July 2017. Web. 24 July 2017. <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/11/us/politics/trump-twitter-users-lawsuit.html>.
On July 24, 2017, Emily DiMego posted an article titled "Twitter Users vs. Trump" on her blog. I do not have the same opinion as her about President Trump. She stated that Trump should not use Twitter that much if he does not want others putting their opinions out there. I would oppose to that because he has the same rights as we do. He is a citizen who should be allowed to use social media in any way he desires. She also stated that Trump is violating our rights stated in the First Amendment by blocking people from viewing his Twitter account. However, we would be violating his Fourth Amendment privacy rights if we did not let him keep his Twitter account private. If people are expressing insensitive opinions on his social media accounts, then Trump should be able to restrict those people from making those comments.
ReplyDeleteOn July 24th, 2017, Emily DiMego published her blog Twitter Users Vs. Trump. Emily contemplates Trump’s use of Twitter as a public forum, and his actions through his social media use. She believes that Trump doesn’t have the right to block Twitter users, and that it is a violation of the First Amendment by doing so seeing as it was his choice to use and continue to tweet on his personal Twitter account.
ReplyDeleteSeeing as this is America’s first time seeing this active of a social media typhoon as our President, it is safe to say it took America by surprise when Trump continued his controversial and opinioned tirades on Twitter during his campaign and after his inauguration. I agree with Emily in that Trump should not have the ability to block people from his Twitter account seeing as he made this his primary mode of communication with the public. The people that Trump is blocking on Twitter are the people who are openly engaging in heated arguments, or opposing his opinions. It is childish of the leader of our country to not let people speak their minds, and not acknowledge differing opinions.
Where I disagree with Emily is that blocking users is a violation of the First Amendment. Due to the First Amendment, Trump has the right to tweet what he wants, as do other Twitter users. However, I don’t believe First Amendment rights are being withheld from the blocked users as there are many ways to still view and access the President’s tweets despite being blocked. Henceforth, they can continue to engage and be involved in roundabout ways in lieu of being blocked.
As the President of the United States, and an expert Tweeter, Trump should be able to handle backlash, and differing opinions that his tweets bring. Trump acknowledges and runs with being a controversial person, and thus should not expect everyone to agree with everything he says. Instead of blocking people for disagreeing with him, he should set an example and ignore the comments, or if he feels passionately, he should engage in a respectful discussion. America is a diverse, opinionated country, and if Trump cannot handle opposition or constructive criticism, should he really be in charge of this country?
ReplyDeleteTo sue or not to sue that is the question. The Twitter vs Trump article written by Emily DiMego was an interesting taking on the social media phenomenon that has followed this new presidency. The article discussed how president Trump should not be allowed to block individuals from Twitter. That he does not have those rights and that blocking people on Twitter somehow violates other’s rights to voice their opinions. There are several problems with this theory and there needs to be a clear understanding of what twitter is used for.
The twitter account in question is the president’s own personal account. The president has the right to the 2nd amendment just as much as the next person. If he feels that the person that is posting on his account is harassing him, it clearly stated in the twitter rules that he can block them. There are clear rules to twitter that people must follow, nowhere does it state that public figures are barred from the right to restrict their own account. It is the individual rights that are protected in twitter. The demeanor and tone of the president’s tweets is not what is in question (regardless of how cringe worthy they might be.)
The actual legality of the fact that he has blocked individuals is what is in question. Twitter gives the individual account holder the right to choose his followers. It states on twitter “You’ll receive a request when new people want to follow you, which you can approve or deny.” That clearly mean the president using a personal account has the right to block whoever he wants. Twitter is a privatized social media platform. Removing the right to choose on a private communication platform is not granting the president his 2nd amendment rights. The tweets are not based on official government policy. It is not a tool for government. It is a private social media tool for citizens. This account was his prior to him becoming president.