Rep. Greene agrees not to block critics from Twitter account
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has reached a settlement that bars the Georgia Republican from blocking anyone from her public Twitter account and other social media while in office
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and a Los Angeles-based political action committee have reached a settlement that bars the Georgia Republican from blocking anyone from her public Twitter account or other social media while she's in office.
Greene also agreed to pay $10,000 to cover legal fees for MeidasTouch LLC, which plans to donate the money to two nonprofit groups, according to Ben Meiselas, the PAC's co-founder and a lawyer whose clients have included former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick
The deal was approved last Friday, he said.
“This was a swift and impactful resolution we are proud of,” Meiselas said in an email.
A telephone message seeking comment on the settlement was left at Greene's Washington, D.C., office Thursday.
Greene doesn't acknowledge any wrongdoing in the agreement, which says all parties reached the deal to avoid “the risk, inconvenience and expense of litigation.”
MeidasTouch sued Greene in February, contending that she violated its First Amendment rights by blocking it from one of her Twitter accounts after the PAC posted critical comments.
MeidasTouch bills itself as being “dedicated to exposing and opposing anti-democratic politicians.” It has posted numerous videos, many of them excoriating former President Donald Trump, and has more than a half-million Twitter followers.
Greene is a Trump supporter who in the past promoted violence against Democrats and conspiracy theories about QAnon and the 9/11 attacks, prompting the House to remove her from two committee assignments last month.
Although it wasn't her formal congressional Twitter account, MeidasTouch said Greene uses it as a “de facto" official account, sharing her positions and doing fundraising drives. The postings generate thousands of replies, according to the lawsuit, which calls it “a kind of virtual town hall in which Greene and her aides use the tweet function to communicate news and information ... and members of the public use the reply function to respond."
The lawsuit said a federal appeals court several years ago ruled in a case involving Trump that a political figure can't use Twitter's blocking function to bar critics from using a social media account that is “otherwise open to the public at large."
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, was sued in a similar case that she later settled.
Under Greene's settlement, the lawmaker restored MeidasTouch's access to her account and agreed that while she's in office, she won't block the PAC or any member of the public from social media accounts that she or her aides use for communicating or fundraising in her role as a congresswoman.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.