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On Monday, the US Supreme Court dismissed a case over former President Donald Trump’s efforts to block critics from his personal Twitter account. The court said there was nothing left to the case after Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter and ended his presidential term in January 2021. Point to be noted that Twitter banned Donald Trump 2 days after the deadly attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters on 6^th January. The social media platform said its decision was due to the risk of further incitement of violence. The Supreme Court also formally threw out an appeals court ruling that found Trump violated the First Amendment whenever he blocked a critic to silence a viewpoint.

It is important that Justice Clarence Thomas also wrote a separate opinion. Justice Thomas argued that the bigger issue rose by the case, and especially Twitter’s decision to boot Trump is the dominant digital platforms themselves. Twitter also made it clear that the right to cut off speech lies most powerfully in the hands of private digital platforms. Justice Thomas showed his agreement with his colleagues about the outcome of the case. But, said the situation raises interesting and important questions. The case concerned the @realdonaldtrump account with more than 88 million followers and Trump’s argument that it is his personal property.

The US Justice Department also argued that blocking people from the social media platform was similar to elected officials who reject to allow their opponents’ yard signs on their front lawns. But, last year, the federal appeals court in New York ruled that Trump used the account to make daily pronouncements and observations that are overwhelmingly official in nature. The case had been styled Trump v. Knight First Amendment Institute. The group originally sued to challenge Trump’s decision to block his critics. But, President Joe Biden replaced Trump in the case’s title when Trump left office, although the new president did nothing with the lawsuit.