Local politician can’t ban constituents from Facebook page – judge

‘A federal court in Virginia has ruled that a politician violated a constituent’s free speech rights when she blocked him from her Facebook page. The ruling could impact a similar case involving President Donald Trump banning Twitter users.
US District Judge James Cacheris in Alexandria, Virginia, ruled on Tuesday that a Facebook page of Loudoun County Chairwoman Phyllis Randall (D-At Large) “operates as a forum for speech under the First Amendment to the US Constitution,” according to a copy of the decision obtained by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.
The ruling comes from a lawsuit filed by Brian Davison who sued Randall in February of last year after he was banned from the “Chair Phyllis J. Randall” Facebook page for around eight hours. Davison was still able to read and share content posted to the pages, but could not post comments or send private messages to Randall.
Cacheris ruled that the consequences of Randall’s actions were “fairly minor,” however, he said that she committed “a cardinal sin under the First Amendment.”‘
Read more: Local politician can’t ban constituents from Facebook page – judge