Blog Stage Six: Comment on a colleague's work (Twitter vs Trump)

       

  To 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 2^nd 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 2^nd 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.