On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that members of the public can, in certain cases, sue government officials who block or mute them on social media.
The justices determined that whether a lawsuit is justified will depend not only on who the blocker is, but whether they acted using an official account where government business is conducted.
According to NBC News, Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote in the ruling that social media accounts can be viewed as official channels of communication when the user "possessed actual authority to speak on the state's behalf" and "purported to exercise that authority."
"In some circumstances," she added, "the post's content and function might make the plaintiff's argument a slam dunk," such as when the account is marked as official.
