The Supreme Court hears cases on social media use by public officials

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in two cases involving lawsuits brought by individuals who were blocked on social media by public officials. In one case, two California school board members blocked two parents after the parents left critical comments on their accounts. In the other case, the city manager of Port Huron, Mich., blocked a city resident on Facebook after the constituent criticized the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. All three plaintiffs said the public officials violated their free speech rights. Decisions in the two cases are expected by early summer 2024.

What is the legal question in these cases? The Supreme Court must decide if public officials engage in state action by using social media to communicate with constituents about job-related issues. The Justice Department holds that the accounts are part of officials’ private lives, while the American Civil Liberties Union argues social media profiles are used in public discourse. A federal court of appeals sided with the plaintiffs in the California school board case. Another federal court of appeals sided with the city manager in Michigan.

Dig deeper: Listen to Jenny Rough’s report on The WORLD and Everything in It podcast about the cases before the Supreme Court this session.