COLORADO
COLORADO REPRESENTATIVE LAUREN BEAUBOURG HAS BEEN LEADING SOME OF HER TWITTER
FOLLOWERS.
THIS IS THE EXACT SAME ISSUE IN
THE CASE AGAINST PRESIDENT
TWENTY NINETEEN.
THE COURT RULED THAT HE USED
TWITTER FOR OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT
PURPOSES SO HE COULD NOT BLOG
FOLLOWERS AS IT VIOLATED
THE FIRST AMENDMENT.
OUR LEGAL ANALYST AND METRO
STATE UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR
WHITNEY TRAILOR JOINS US NOW TO
CHAT ABOUT THIS.
GOOD MORNING, WHITNEY.
GOOD MORNING, COREY.
HAPPY FRIDAY TO EVERYONE.
YES, HAPPY FRIDAY.
SO WHAT ARE THE CHANCES THAT
BOBERT WILL BE SUED FOR
POSSIBLE FIRST AMENDMENT
VIOLATIONS?
WELL, IT'S HARD TO SAY WHETHER
OR NOT SHE'LL BE SUED.
I CAN'T GET INTO SOMEBODY
ELSE'S MIND IN TERMS OF WHETHER
THEY WILL SUE OR BUT I CAN'T
SPEAK TO THE PARAMETERS OF THE
LAWSUIT AND WHAT I THINK
THE CHANCES WOULD BE IF SHE WAS
SUED AND ESSENTIALLY WHAT
HAPPENED IS THAT REPRESENTATIVE
BOEHNER BLOCKED SOME OF HER
CRITICS, INCLUDING FORMER STATE
REPRESENTATIVE BREE WHEN TELO
AND THAT WAS AS YOU SAID,
COREY, THE EXACT SAME THING
THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP HAD DONE A
COUPLE OF YEARS BACK WHICH HE
WAS SUED FOR AND THAT WENT TO
TRIAL AND THE COURT SAID NO,
YOU CAN'T AS A GOVERNMENT ACTOR
YOU CAN'T RESTRICT THESE USERS
AND THE COURTS REASONED THAT
BECAUSE PRESIDENT TRUMP WAS
USING HIS TWITTER AS OFFICIAL
GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION
ANNOUNCING TERMINATION,
ANNOUNCING POLICY, WHATEVER
THAT HE COULD NOT BLOCK USERS.
SO HERE THE ISSUE IS IF
REPRESENTATIVE WHEN TELO FORMER
REPRESENTATIVE WITH TWITTER OR
OTHERS SUE LAURA BEAUBOURG
BECAUSE SHE BLOCKED THEM,
THE QUESTION WILL BE WAS
REPRESENTATIVE BOEHNER USING
HER TWITTER ACCOUNT AS OFFICIAL
GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION?
AND IF YOU LOOK BECAUSE
I BELIEVE HE HAS TO BOTH HER
OFFICIAL TWITTER ACCOUNT AND
THEN A PRIVATE ONE AND IT
SOUNDS LIKE ON BOTH OF THEM
THAT SHE'S TWEETING INFORMATION
ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT AND ABOUT
OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT PURPOSES.
SO IF SHE IS SUED FOR BLOCKING
PEOPLE, I THINK THAT YES, SHE
WILL BE FOUND TO BE VIOLATING
FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS BECAUSE
SHE'S USING THAT AS GOVERNMENT
COMMUNICATIONS.
SO YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT SHE
HAS TWO TWITTER PROFILES ONE
MAYBE YOU KNOW THE POLITICAL
ONE AND ONE IS A PRIVATE ONE.
IF IT WAS PRIVATE, IS THAT OK?
THAT'S A GREAT POINT.
AND IF IT WAS PRIVATE THEN YES,
I THINK SHE WOULD HAVE THAT
PROTECTION.
THAT WOULDN'T BE A FIRST
AMENDMENT VIOLATION BECAUSE IF
SHE BLOCKED SOMEBODY FROM
FOLLOWING HER PRIVATELY, SHE'S
NOT PREVENTING PEOPLE FROM
HAVING PUBLIC DISCORD AND BEING
ABLE TO DISAGREE.
NOW IF ON HER PRIVATE ACCOUNT
THERE'S A SUBSTANTIVE
SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF OFFICIAL
GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION OR
COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT GOVERNMENT
HAPPENINGS, THEN YES, THAT
WOULD PROBABLY BE A VIOLATION
FROM WHAT I'VE REVIEWED ON
THE ACCOUNTS, IT APPEARS THAT
IT IS GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS
.
SO I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE
DEEMED TO BE FIRST AMENDMENT
PROTECTED AND WOULD PREVENT
LAUREN OBER FROM BLOCKING
TWITTER FOLLOWERS AND WE'VE
DISCUSSED THIS ISSUE RECENTLY
WITH TWITTER AND FACEBOOK
BANNING PRESIDENT TRUMP.
A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE SAYING
SOCIAL MEDIA CENSORING
CONSERVATIVE VOICES AND
VIEWPOINTS.
WHAT'S YOUR TAKE ON THAT?
I UNDERSTAND THAT ARGUMENT
ESPECIALLY NOW BECAUSE FOLKS
ARE SAYING LOOK, PRESIDENT
TRUMP IN PRECLUDED FROM ALL
SOCIAL MEDIA PARLORS BEING
KICKED OFF OF APPLE IN SOME
OF THESE OTHER APPS.
BUT THE REALITY IS AGAIN, THESE
ARE PRIVATE COMPANIES SO
TWITTER AND APPLE AND ALL THESE
THINGS, THEY'RE NOT GOVERNED BY
THE FIRST AMENDMENT SO THEY
HAVE A RIGHT TO KICK OFF PEOPLE
WHO ARE NOT COMPLYING WITH
THEIR REGULATIONS.
NOW THEY ALSO ARGUE THAT
BECAUSE THERE WAS AN INCITEMENT
OF VIOLENCE, ESPECIALLY ON
THE PART OF THE PRESIDENT THAT
THEY WERE ABLE TO RESTRICT HIM
BECAUSE IT VIOLATED THEIR
POLICIES.
SO I DON'T KNOW NECESSARILY
THAT THERE'S A PUSH TO TO
SILENCE CONSERVATIVE VOICES.
I THINK THAT THESE ISSUES HAVE
JUST COME TO THE SURFACE IN
PARTICULARLY IN THE LAST COUPLE
OF WEEKS BUT EVEN IN THE LAST
COUPLE OF YEARS WITH PRESIDENT
TRUMP.
AND SO IT APPEARS THAT
THE COMPANIES ARE BOTH
COMPLYING WITH THEIR OWN
POLICIES AND THEY'RE BEING
TRANSPARENT IN TERMS OF WHO
THEY'VE REMOVED AND WHY.
MM HMM.
I THINK EVERYONE'S PRETTY
VERSED ON THE FIRST AMENDMENT
THESE