T.J. Zane—Setting Boundaries: Social Media, Public Officials, and First Amendment Rights in the Digital Age

Hon. T.J. Zane is one of two Petitioners in O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier, a case which was argued before the Supreme Court of the United States on October 31, 2023. The case concerns the First Amendment and public officials’ use of social media. Zane and his colleague petitioned the Supreme Court and presented the following question: “Whether a public official engages in state action subject to the First Amendment by blocking an individual from the official’s personal social-media account, when the official uses the account to feature their job and communicate about job-related matters with the public, but does not do so pursuant to any governmental authority or duty.”