US: Judge tells Trump he cannot block Twitter users, but he can mute them 

Donald Trump

U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald did not order Mr Trump to unblock users but said she expected him or his social media director Dan Scavino would do so in light of the decision.

Judge Buchwald’s ruling came after a lawsuit filed against Mr Trump last July by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University as well as several Twitter users.

The plaintiffs claimed that by blocking users, Mr Trump was preventing them from participating in discussion in a public forum, in violation of the First Amendment.

Mr Trump has blocked a number of users, including novelists Stephen King and Anne Rice and comedian Rosie O’Donnell.

The plaintiffs included Philip Cohen, a sociology professor at the University of Maryland; Holly Figueroa, a political organiser and songwriter and police officer Brandon Neely.

Judge Buchwald rejected counsel for Mr Trump’s argument that his own First Amendment rights allowed him to block people.

“While we must recognize, and are sensitive to, the president’s personal First Amendment rights, he cannot exercise those rights in a way that infringes the corresponding First Amendment rights of those who have criticized him,” Judge Buchwald said.

She did say, however, that he could mute users, which would prevent him from seeing their tweets but still allow them to reply to his.