Supreme Court asked to pause limits on White House social media requests
The Free Speech Defense and Education Fund (FSDEF) has asked the Supreme Court to pause a lower court decision that limits public access to White House social media accounts.
In July, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned an earlier decision that had set a precedent for opening up social media accounts of the president and other government officials to requests under the Freedom of Information Act.
FSDEF, a non-profit group that defends the right to free speech, is now intervening in the case and has asked the Supreme Court to put the appeals court’s decision on hold until the full Supreme Court can consider the case.
Obama-era open-government advocate and lawyers who had been involved in the original case are also collaborating with FSDEF to challenge the appeals court decision.
The case is based on the argument that the president and other government officials’ social media accounts are public record and thus should be subject to requests under the Freedom of Information Act. The case did not address the content of any tweets or other posts, but argued that information regarding the White House’s process for creating and curating social media accounts should be made public.
Critics have argued that such a decision would lead to less transparency in the White House, while supporters believe it would help create a more accountable and transparent administration.
The Supreme Court is yet to make a decision on the matter.