Davison v. Randall

Fourth Circuit Holds that Blocking on Public Official’s Social Media Page Violates First Amendment

Mon, 25 Feb 2019 00:00:00 -0800

On January 7, 2019, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit became the first appellate court to address how the First Amendment applies to social media accounts operated by public officials – an issue that has become increasingly important as more and more government officials turn to social media as the primary way to speak to, and hear from, their constituents. In Davison v. Randall, 912 F.3d 666 (4th Cir. 2019), as amended (Jan. 9, 2019), the court found in favor of free speech rights online, holding that a local county official’s Facebook page, which she used for official purposes, was a public forum and that her decision to temporarily block plaintiff Brian Davison from posting on the page was unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.

Appeals Court Holds Government Official Who Blocked Critic from Facebook Page Violated First Amendment

Mon, 07 Jan 2019 00:00:00 -0800

A county official who blocked a critic from her Facebook Page violated the First Amendment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed today, in the first decision by an appellate court addressing the applicability of the First Amendment to social media accounts run by public officials. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University argued the appeal on behalf of Brian Davison, a Virginia resident who had been temporarily banned from the Facebook Page of the chair of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.

“Today’s decision confirms that the First Amendment prohibits government censorship on new communications platforms,” said Katie Fallow, senior staff attorney at the Knight Institute, who argued the case on appeal. “Public officials, who increasingly use social media accounts as public forums to foster speech and debate among their constituents, have no greater license to suppress dissent online than they do offline.”

Brian Davison filed a First Amendment lawsuit in 2016, after Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall blocked him for posting comments that criticized members of the county school board. Davison won that lawsuit, with the trial court ruling that Randall had unconstitutionally barred him from her Facebook Page based on viewpoint. Randall appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard oral arguments in the case in September 2018.

In its opinion, the court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling that aspects of Randall’s Facebook Page “bear the hallmarks of a public forum” and that her decision to ban Davison constituted “black-letter viewpoint discrimination.”

This is the first court of appeals ruling on whether the First Amendment applies to government-run social media sites. In May 2018, a federal trial court in New York held in a case brought by the Knight Institute that President Trump’s blocking of critics from his Twitter account violated the First Amendment. The Trump administration has appealed that decision, and the case is currently pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

“The First Amendment forecloses government officials from suppressing speech on the basis of viewpoint,” said Jameel Jaffer, the Knight Institute’s Executive Director. “With so many public officials using social media as a means of communicating with their constituents, the Fourth Circuit’s thoughtful ruling will undoubtedly have broad impact.”

Read the decision here.

For more information, contact the Knight Institute at info@knightcolumbia.org.

About the Knight Institute

The Knight First Amendment Institute defends the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age through strategic litigation, research, and public education. Its aim is to promote a system of free expression that is open and inclusive, that broadens and elevates public discourse, and that fosters creativity, accountability, and effective self-government.

Knight Institute to Represent Plaintiff in the First Social-Media-Blocking Lawsuit to Reach Appellate Court

Wed, 02 May 2018 00:00:00 -0700

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University today announced that it will represent Brian Davison, a Virginia resident who was temporarily blocked from the Facebook page of a local public official, as his case proceeds before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. There are a number of legal challenges across the country regarding public officials who have blocked individuals from social media accounts, and this will be the first such lawsuit to be heard at the appellate level.

The Knight Institute had previously submitted an amicus brief in Davison v. Randall urging the Fourth Circuit court to uphold a lower court's ruling that Phyllis Randall, the Chair of the Loudoun Board of Supervisors, violated Davison’s First Amendment rights by blocking him from a personal Facebook page that she was using in an official capacity. After the Fourth Circuit court indicated that the case warranted oral argument, Davison, who was previously representing himself, retained the Institute as counsel. The Fourth Circuit court today issued an order providing a briefing schedule for the remainder of the case.

The Institute is also representing seven individuals who were blocked from the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account after criticizing the president, and is currently awaiting a ruling from the district court for the Southern District of New York.

The following statement is attributable to Katie Fallow, senior staff attorney at the Knight Institute:

“The district court properly recognized that the First Amendment bars public officials from blocking individuals from official social media accounts on the basis of viewpoint. We look forward to defending that decision on appeal. It’s crucial that the First Amendment protections that apply in conventional public forums like open school board and city council meetings apply with equal force online.”

The scheduling order >

About the Knight Institute

The Knight First Amendment Institute is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization established by Columbia University and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to defend the freedoms of speech and press in the digital age through strategic litigation, research, and public education.