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The First Amendment Profile picture
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30 Nov, 5 tweets, 2 min read
I see that a certain segment of Twitter is afire over a comment about Twitter not being “bound by the First Amendment,” so here goes:

I protect you from the government, not from Twitter. Companies are not “bound” by me and indeed they have their own 1A rights. 1/5
That means that I protect Twitter’s right to control the speech on its platform.

2/5
When the government tries to control the speech on Twitter, that actually does violate me, as Florida recently learned:

3/5
But just because Twitter is not bound by me does not mean that you can’t advocate for Twitter to follow me or express your contempt for Twitter for not following me. Have at it. If you don’t like how Twitter uses their rights, use yours to persuade them to act differently. 4/5
Just please don’t pass any more unconstitutional laws over it. 5/5

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More from @USConst_Amend_I

The First Amendment Profile picture
30 Nov
For those able and inclined to support First Amendment rights on #GivingTuesday, here are some organizations dedicated to First Amendment rights who would, I’m sure, appreciate any help you can give.
A few points before I start the list, each of these organizations has a different focus, a different mission, a different political view, a different idea of what liberty looks like. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which are best or most deserving.
If you can’t afford to donate money, there are still ways you can help. You could volunteer with these organizations, promote their message online, or explain and advocate for 1A rights to those around you who need to hear it. More ideas from Popehat:

Read 21 tweets
The First Amendment Profile picture
22 Nov
I do much more than protect from prosecution. I also limit civil liability for protected speech.
Exhibit A

mtsu.edu/first-amendmen…
Exhibit B

mtsu.edu/first-amendmen…
Read 5 tweets
The First Amendment Profile picture
20 Nov
I protect your (and Biden’s) right to call Rittenhouse a white supremacist
No, it’s not defamation

But hey at least they made BLT

Read 4 tweets
The First Amendment Profile picture
3 Oct
I protect a lot of knowingly false disinformation. So let’s break down @VickerySec’s knowingly false (and protected) disinformation about me, shall we?

A few points: Image
1. It is true that defamation, fraud, and perjury are all exceptions, for which one element is (more or less) that the speech is knowingly false.

2. But those exceptions all have *additional* elements that must be met for the speech to be unprotected.
3. You therefore can’t extrapolate from these exception that all knowingly false speech is unprotected. For example, if Congress banned oranges, it would be incorrect to say that all fruit is illegal.
Read 7 tweets
The First Amendment Profile picture
21 Sep
I know I say “I don’t protect you from Twitter” a lot, and that a lot of people (idiots, mostly) are bothered by that, but it is said in defense of First Amendment rights.

A few points:
1. I provide accurate statements of the law so people can learn about 1A rights.

2. I do this even when I don’t agree with the way in which someone is using their 1A rights. For example, I inform people that hate speech is protected, even though I don’t agree with the content.
3. This goes for Twitter’s decisions to moderate content, too. It is protected, and I will continue to point that out even if I don’t agree with any particular decision by Twitter.
Read 8 tweets
The First Amendment Profile picture
10 Sep
I’m seeing a lot of these takes so here is a short, oversimplified explanation.

1/5
Two points.

1. I do not protect actual rioting.

2. Today’s decision about Florida’s anti-riot law does not say you have the right to riot.

2/5
The court said that the Florida law defined “riot” in an overly broad way that criminalized protected speech (i.e., speech that is not rioting). The government can’t punish protected speech simply by calling it “rioting.”

3/5
Read 5 tweets

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