The US Supreme Court ruled on the use of social networks by officials

The United States Supreme Court noted on Friday Public officials can be sued in certain circumstances to block people who criticize them on the network.However, in another separate case he authorized those workers to veto certain people.

judge Amy Connie Barrett He emphasized in his writing that public officials who use their personal accounts to issue official statements They may not be free to delete comments About or directly from those messages Block those who criticize them.

“Sometimes it is difficult to draw the line between private conduct and state action. (…) When a public official uses social media, it is certainly necessary to closely evaluate it in order to classify it.“, emphasized the magistrate.

In one case that reached court, Free JamesThe city manager of Port Huron, Michigan, used p Facebook Which she made when she was in college Communicate with citizensHowever, he also used it to tell the details of his life.

A resident put it into the account Criticism of the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Freed blocked him and deleted his comments. In the lower court, the manager supported their decision.

“A public official who does not keep personal messages in a clearly designated location exposes himself to greater potential liability.“said the Supreme Court, which affirmed that it did not agree with the previous court’s decision and authorized the case to proceed.

for the supreme, Speech by government officials may be subject to First Amendment scrutinywhich gives protection freedom of expressionOnly when they have authority to speak on behalf of the state and intend to exercise that authority.

One such case also affected the former American President Donald Trump (2017-2021) and for the incumbent candidate again for the presidency Block users on X (Then Twitter).

A New York court agreed, but by the time the appeal reached the Supreme Court, Trump had abdicated and the court dismissed the case in April 2021, as already somewhat irrelevant.

There is a nuance in pending cases related to social networks More biased. Judges evaluate Laws passed in Florida and Texas which prohibits major social media companies from removing messages because of the views they express.

Technology companies assert that the laws violate their constitutional rights to free speech. The laws reflect the position of many Republicans that the platform censors disproportionately conservative viewpoints.

(with information from agencies)