Appeals court rules that Trump cannot block Twitter users

The Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled on Tuesday that it is a violation of free speech for President Trump to block his critics on Twitter.

The ruling which the 2nd Circuit upheld would require Trump, as well as other government officials who use their social media presence to deliver official statements, to allow open access for all users to view such statements.

In particular, the ruling applies to critics of the president, whom he has been known to block from viewing or commenting on his Twitter postings.

These postings have been equated to the modern “town hall meeting”, insofar as they are the direct line by which President Trump communicates his agendas and actions to the public.

While the Justice Department argued on behalf of President Trump that the account in question was purely personal, the White House has previously declared such tweets to be official White House statements.

The judges did not rule on the matter of specifically private accounts, only those used by government officials to conduct official business.