Free Speech

Law Profs Argue Trump Treats Twitter Like A Dictator Would

Donald Trump and the First Amendment go together like peanut butter and pickles.

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(photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

[E]fforts to block users based on their criticism of the government threaten the very dangers that the First Amendment’s ban on viewpoint discrimination seeks to prevent: allowing the government to silence its critics, foster warped perceptions of officials’ popularity, and chill dissenting voices who may avoid speaking out for fear of reprisal.

— The Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection in an amicus brief filed on behalf of seven law professors — including Berkeley Law dean Erwin Chemerinsky — arguing that when @realDonaldTrump blocks Twitter users he is violating the First Amendment. They also noted such actions had a distinctly dictatorial feel about them: “[The] false impression that political leaders are adored by the public is critical to warping the public’s understanding of how those leaders are really viewed by the public and, in turn, to quashing democratic impulses.”

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