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First Amendment › Facebook › Social Media

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the government from making laws respecting the establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech... more +
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the government from making laws respecting the establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech or the press, preventing citizens from peacefully assembling, or interfering with citizens' ability to petition the government for redress of their grievances. The First Amendment is one of the most sacred aspects of the American legal tradition and has spawned a vast body of jurisprudence and commentary. less -
Tucker Arensberg, P.C.

Supreme Court Addresses Social Media Usage by a Public Official

Tucker Arensberg, P.C. on

Lindke v. Freed, 2024 U.S. LEXIS 1214 (2024) (A public official who blocks someone from commenting on the official’s social-media page engages in state action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 only if the official both 1) possessed...more

Rumberger | Kirk

SCOTUS Clarifies Scope of Social Media Liability for Public Officials

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On March 15, 2024, the United States Supreme Court handed down its decisions in Lindke v. Freed and O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier, two similar cases which broadly asked when public officials may be liable for their use of...more

Epstein Becker & Green

Public Officials Subject to Suits for Blocking Social Media Critics, “Safety Valve” Relief from Mandatory Minimums Is Limited -...

Epstein Becker & Green on

On Friday, March 15, a unanimous Supreme Court decided two companion cases (Lindke v. Freed and O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier) that resolved a split in the Circuits concerning whether public officials can be held liable under...more

Sherman & Howard L.L.C.

Supreme Court of the United States Allows Constitutional Claim Against Public Officials For Social Media Activity

Sherman & Howard L.L.C. on

In Lindke v. Reed, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued an opinion holding that social media activity can constitute state action for purposes of a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Court held that “[f]or...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Is Everything Better in Moderation? Circuit Split on Content Moderation to Be Heard by SCOTUS

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On February 26, 2024, the United States Supreme Court is set to hear oral argument in two cases currently before the Court, Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton. At their core, these cases raise the question as to...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

The Supreme Court Does Not Pose a “True Threat” to Defamation Law

Ballard Spahr LLP on

Summary - An opinion about a category of unprotected speech called “true threats” sheds light on how a majority of the justices may view New York Times v. Sullivan, a key defamation case. It also resolves a split over the...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Bitter Medicine: Third Circuit Holds Officers Disciplined for Offensive Social Media Posts Stated a First Amendment Claim

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 8, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held in Fenico v. City of Philadelphia that police officers disciplined for offensive Facebook posts stated a First Amendment claim...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Supreme Court Hands Twin Victories to Online Services

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on

Twitter v. Taamneh and Google v. Gonzalez rulings address Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act - The Supreme Court ruled in two long-awaited cases on May 18, handing twin victories to online services. These...more

Saiber LLC

The Supreme Court Gets a Second Shot at an Important First Amendment and Social Media Issue

Saiber LLC on

The May 10, 2021 post The Donald Trump Twitter Case: Vacated and Dismissed as Moot by the Supreme Court reported how the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed Knight First Amendment Inst. at Columbia University v. Trump, in which the...more

Saiber LLC

A Possible ‘High Noon’ for Social Media Platforms Looms at the Supreme Court

Saiber LLC on

The August 13, 2021 Trending Law Blog post discussed how, in NetChoice, LLC v. Attorney General, State of Florida, the United States District court for the Northern District of Florida enjoined Florida from enforcing a law...more

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

Private Employer May Terminate Employee for Racially Insensitive Social Media Post

Lowenstein Sandler LLP on

Last week the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit by an employee who alleged she had been wrongfully terminated based on her controversial Facebook post. In so doing, the court held that the...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Court Enjoins Texas Social Media “Censorship” Law

Vinson & Elkins LLP on

On December 1, 2021, Judge Pitman of the Western District of Texas granted a preliminary injunction to prevent the Texas Attorney General from enforcing HB 20. NetChoice v. Paxton. HB 20 prohibits large social media platforms...more

Bilzin Sumberg

Federal Court Blocks Florida Law Aimed at Social Media Giants

Bilzin Sumberg on

A federal judge recently blocked a Florida law that would have penalized social media companies for removing, or refusing to publish, posts by politicians. Florida legislators approved the legislation after Facebook, Twitter...more

Bilzin Sumberg

Industry Groups File Lawsuit Challenging Florida Social Media Law

Bilzin Sumberg on

On May 24, 2021, Florida’s governor signed into law legislation prohibiting social media companies from blocking political candidates seeking to use those companies’ websites to communicate with the sites’ users. Almost...more

FordHarrison

The First Amendment: Where it is Implicated, and Where it is Not

FordHarrison on

Executive Summary: In the wake of the January 6, 2021, unrest at the United States Capitol Building and several social media outlets suspending President Trump’s accounts, free speech is a hot topic. Although the right to...more

Robinson+Cole Data Privacy + Security Insider

Privacy Tip #258 – Misinformation on Social Media

Robinson+Cole Data Privacy + Security Insider on

The misinformation on social media about the election results (and other topics) is rampant. Social media companies like Twitter and Facebook are struggling with the balance between the First Amendment right to free speech...more

Mintz - ML Strategies

Twitter, Facebook, Google Heads Testify on Section 230 and Local Journalism

Mintz - ML Strategies on

On Wednesday, October 28, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a much-anticipated hearing titled, “Does Section 230’s Sweeping Immunity Enable Big Tech Bad Behavior?” The witness line-up featured...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Social Media PSA For Employees And Employers

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on

Only YOU can prevent a social media firestorm. My Facebook page is a snooze. Two members of my immediate family do not want their existence to be acknowledged on the internet. I almost never post anything, except to wish...more

Nossaman LLP

Compliance Notes – Vol. 1, Issue 6

Nossaman LLP on

Welcome to Volume 1, Issue 6 of Compliance Notes from Nossaman’s Government Relations & Regulation Group – a periodic digest of the headlines, statutory and regulatory changes, and court cases involving campaign finance,...more

Butler Snow LLP

Nashville Trump Supporter Fired Over Facebook Post Wins Trial

Butler Snow LLP on

Government employees enjoy more protection than employees of private-sector companies when it comes to speaking their minds about politics or other matters of public concern outside the workplace. A public employee may not be...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Second Circuit Affirms That President Trump Cannot Block Critics on Twitter

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati on

In a closely watched case, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held on July 8, 2019 that President Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking disfavored users on his @RealDonaldTrump Twitter account. This important...more

Hogan Lovells

Practical Pointers: Social Media Guidelines for Public Officials (and the People who Advise Them)

Hogan Lovells on

Social media has transformed the ways legislators and their staff interact with constituents. Through social media platforms, our elected officials share insights into the legislative process, communicate with constituents,...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Second Circuit Holds That Blocking Users’ Access To Presidential Twitter Account Violates First Amendment

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP on

On July 9, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the First Amendment prohibits the government from blocking social media users from accessing the Twitter account @realDonaldTrump. See Knight First...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Ninth Circuit Reaffirms Its Broad Definition of ATDS in TCPA ; Rules Government Debt Exception Unconstitutional

Ballard Spahr LLP on

A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Duguid v. Facebook, Inc., has reaffirmed the broad reading of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) definition of an automatic...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

First Amendment Protects Negative Comments On Government Official’s Facebook Page

Fox Rothschild LLP on

In a decision that should serve as a warning to any school board member who communicates by social media, a federal appeals court ruled that a public official who established an official government Facebook page had created a...more

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