Clay Calvert Comments on Trump’s Twitter Ban and the First Amendment

Clay Calvert, director of the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, was quoted in “President Trump Permanently Banned from Twitter Over Risk He Could Incite Violence” published in USA Today on Jan. 9.

The article focuses on Twitter’s permanent ban of President Trump’s account citing the risk that his posts could incite further violence.

According to Calvert, Trump’s suspension from Twitter is not a violation of the president’s First Amendment free speech rights.

“The First Amendment only protects against censorship by the government and government entities, not by private entities and organizations, such as social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook,” he said.

Posted: January 11, 2021
Category: Brechner Center, College News
Tagged as: Clay Calvert, Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project