05/31/2026
We have received numerous messages related to the City of St Marys agenda item as outlined in the picture below. Many of these messages have questioned whether disabling comments on social media by ‘the government” is a violation of the First Amendment
Below is our non-legal opinion on the question, “Is the disabling all comments on a government page constitutional”?
YES!
Although there have been many court cases surrounding free speech as protected under the First Amendment as related to social media, the ability of a government agency or actor to disable ALL COMMENTS remains a legally protected option.
Indeed, should a government entity or individual representative permit any comments on social media posts, this “interactive component” would constitute a ‘public forum’ (Davison v Randall). However, should the City of St Marys make the decision to disable ALL COMMENTS, the ‘public forum’ would not exist. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca4/17-2002/17-2002-2019-01-07.html
Additionally, in Murthy v Missouri, the “right to listen” was challenged by the Court. Although, individuals may possess the right to “speak”, the right to read and engage with the content of others was not affirmed.https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-411_3dq3.pdf
Should St Marys (or any governmental body) allow comments on their social media posts and ‘hide’ comments or delete comments – content moderation (not in violation of clearly defined community standards), the city’s actions would be unconstitutional (Lindke v Freed )https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-611_ap6c.pdf
Again, this is neither legal advice nor legal opinion, and is provided for informational purposes only.
We highly encourage reading and reviewing each link provided above for a more detailed understanding.
