Colorado’s new law giving politicians leeway to block people on social media may be much harder to use than it seems – By Jesse Paul (Colorado Sun) / July 1, 2023
The legislature’s nonpartisan lawyers warn that House Bill 1306 won’t necessarily prevent lawsuits and highlighted a host of potential loopholes in the policy
A bipartisan bill passed this year by Colorado lawmakers that purports to let state officials block people on social media for any reason, as long as their accounts aren’t “supported by the resources of state government,” may be a lot harder to use than it seems — and it may not even be constitutional.
The measure, House Bill 1306, which was signed into law in early June, is intended to address ambiguity around whether politicians blocking their constituents on sites like Facebook and Twitter violates the First Amendment. There have been lawsuits to that effect in Colorado that have led to pricey settlements covered by taxpayers.
Judges have issued conflicting opinions on the matter, and the U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering the question.
But Colorado’s nonpartisan Office of Legislative Legal Services, which provides legal advice to state lawmakers, issued a memo indicating House Bill 1306 may not be much of a fix after all.
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