The Knight Institute joined in the filing of a consolidated amicus brief in both Lindke v. Freed and O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier, two Supreme Court cases addressing the state action doctrine in the context of public officials’ use of social media accounts. This brief argued that the Supreme Court should affirm the Ninth Circuit’s decision. Government officials and agencies use social media extensively to communicate with constituents, provide important public notices, and debate key policy and political issues. These are vital spaces for public discourse, and in order to protect the public’s right to engage with each other and with government representatives, the Knight Institute argued that the Court should adopt a functional approach to the state action test that asks when a social media account is used in furtherance of government duties.

On March 15, 2024, the Supreme Court articulated a new state action test in its opinion in Lindke. Now on remand, the Sixth Circuit must determine whether the city manager in this case spoke on behalf of the government in running his Facebook page. The Knight Institute, along with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, filed an amicus brief clarifying the Supreme Court’s decision and urging the court to remand the case for further factfinding. 

Status: Opinion released in the Sixth Circuit on August 21, 2024.

Case Information: Lindke v. Freed, No. 22-611 (Supreme Court), 21-2977 (6th Cir.).