The Supreme Court laid out a new test Friday for when government officials violate the free speech rights of members of the public by removing comments or blocking access on their social media accounts.
The justices, in a unanimous opinion, ruled those officials must have authority to speak for the government, and then purport to use that authority on social media, before they could face liability for those deletions or blocks.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the decision for the court that determined the outcome in two First Amendment cases, one brought against two California school board members and one brought against a Michigan city manager.
