UPDATE - US: judge rules Trump cannot block Twitter critics

ADDS JUSTICE DEPARTMENT COMMENT IN LAST GRAPH

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. President Donald Trump cannot block Twitter critics from accessing his feed, a federal judge in New York ruled Wednesday.

Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald said in her ruling Trump cannot block Twitter users who criticize him because doing so is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees free speech.

"No government official -- including the president -- is above the law," Buchwald wrote. "While we must recognize, and are sensitive to, the President’s personal First Amendment rights, he cannot exercise those rights in a way that infringes the corresponding First Amendment rights of those who have criticized him."

The case was originally brought by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and seven Twitter users who had been blocked by Trump.

Jameel Jaffer, the institute's director, said in a statement following the ruling that the court's decision "reflects a careful application of core First Amendment principles to government censorship on a new communications platform".

"The president’s practice of blocking critics on Twitter is pernicious and unconstitutional, and we hope this ruling will bring it to an end," he added.

The administration had sought to argue that Trump was within his personal rights to block certain accounts and that blocked individuals could still access Trump's Twitter feed.

But Buchwald ruled that Trump blocking certain Americans from accessing his @realDonaldTrump Twitter account is a violation of a "a real, albeit narrow, slice of speech".

"No more is needed to violate the Constitution," she wrote.

Trump did not immediately respond to the ruling, but the Justice Department told Anadolu Agency it was weighing additional action.

“We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision and are considering our next steps,” spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in an emailed statement.