FRANKFORT, Ky.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky filed a federal lawsuit Monday regarding Gov. Matt Bevin banning or blocking users from his official social media accounts.

The suit seeks a declaration that Bevin's practices are a violation of individuals' First Amendment rights. The ACLU asked for an injunction to prevent the governor from permanently blocking users on Facebook and Twitter.

The suit was filed on behalf of a retired social justice activist from Eastern Kentucky and a politically engaged resident from Louisville who were permanently blocked from posting on Gov. Bevin's official Facebook and Twitter accounts. Their comments involved politics but were not obscene, abusive or defamatory.

"Ive been very active in my community and in Frankfort for the past two years," ACLU client Mary Hargis said. "Ive been frustrated with Gov. Bevins stances on a number of social justice issues. I was shocked when I discovered that I was blocked from further commenting on the governors posts. I may not have voted for Gov. Bevin, but Im one of his constituents. He shouldnt be permanently dismissing my views and concerns with a click."

"I often use the official social media pages of my local, state and federal representatives as a way to share feedback," ACLU client Drew Morgan said. "I was surprised when Gov. Bevin blocked my access to his Twitter page, particularly because of how many times he has asked Kentuckians to follow his social media pages to hear about his ideas and policies directly from him."

The lawsuit states the governor's policy of permanently banning users from engaging in political discussions on his official social media pages isn't tailored to promote legitimate interest in moderating the pages and constitutes unlawful restraint of speech.

"The First Amendment does not allow the government to exclude speakers from a public forum because it disagrees with their viewpoint," ACLU of Kentucky Legal Director William Sharp said. "And even when the government seeks to enforce permissible limits in such a forum, permanently excluding individuals for violating those limits goes too far."

The lawsuit was filed after the governor's office ignored a demand letter from the ACLU regarding more than 600 users whose First Amendment rights had been violated after they were permanently blocked after posting comments on the governor's social media accounts.

The letter asked Bevin to unblock the affected users and develop written criteria for how his administration will moderate its social media pages in the future.

Originally posted here:

Lawsuit challenges Gov. Bevin's social media censorship - WLKY Louisville