Social media sites have become the new “public square” where individuals share opinions and information about all types of political and societal events. Public sector employees, as much as anyone else, use social media to post viewpoints and to participate in public debate. Problems arise, however, when a public employee posts harsh, derogatory, defamatory, or
Public Officials Who Block Users on Social Media May Be Violating the First Amendment
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in Garnier v. O’Connor-Ratcliffe that public officials violated their constituents’ First Amendment rights by blocking them from the public officials’ social media accounts that were used for official duties.
School District Trustees Block Two Parents on Social Media
In Garnier, Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff and T.J. Zane,
Discontinuing A Business Relationship Can Raise First Amendment Concerns
A recent case has made clear that a government agency’s ceasing doing business with a company based on the viewpoints of the company’s owners can lead to First Amendment liability for the agency. Earlier this year, in Riley’s American Heritage Farms v. Elsasser, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (the
Government-Hosted Social Media – How To Avoid First Amendment Claims
This post appeared in April 2018. It has been reviewed and is up to date.
Social media and the First Amendment is a fascinating and quickly-developing area of the law. All types of business organizations have a social media presence, for example, a Twitter page or Facebook account, and often on their own websites
Public Safety Video Briefing: First Amendment and Social Media – July 2021
We are excited to announce a new video series designed especially to serve our public safety clients. Our short Public Safety Video Briefings will tackle cutting-edge issues and core principles relevant to public safety employers. We hope you find these videos useful and thought-provoking.
The First Amendment in Employment and Education – Five Issues for 2021
This year saw perhaps the largest public protests in American history, one of the most contentious election years, vast public use of social media to achieve political and social goals, and harsh debate on whether government mandates designed to combat the pandemic infringe constitutional rights, including the right to free expression. Free speech challenges rose
New Guidance on Employer Control Over Employee Social Media
This post was authored by Jeffrey C. Freedman.
Picture this: you are your agency’s Human Resources Director. One morning a fellow Director from another Department comes to visit you. She tells you she was sitting before her home computer the prior evening and found a Facebook post from one of her employees complaining about
Don’t Click “Block” Just Yet: Judge Rules Public Officials, Including the President, Can’t Block People on Twitter
This post was authored by Ashley Bobo.
It was only this past June that the Supreme Court emphasized the impact of social media on the modern world. The court made it clear in Packington v. North Carolina that social media sites like Facebook and Twitter exist as some of “the most powerful mechanisms available
Government-Hosted Social Media – How To Avoid First Amendment Claims
This post was authored by David Urban.
Social media and the First Amendment is a fascinating and quickly-developing area of the law. All types of business organizations have a social media presence, for example, a Twitter page or Facebook account, and often on their own websites invite the public to comment. The same is
Five First Amendment Issues to Watch in 2016 – Public Employment and Education
An unprecedented number of protests – at educational institutions and in city streets – occurred nationwide last year, and protests continue to serve as focal points for public attention and debate going into 2016. The legal realm concerning free speech is in a similar state of turbulence for public employers and for educators.
Here are