"Neil Richards, a law professor at Washington University School of law, says the case is particularly important because it seeks to assess how the internet actually works in the real world. "When we’re thinking about the First Amendment, it’s important that we recognize the internet that we have in practice, rather than an idealized version of the internet that we might want to have or that Silicon Valley might sell us," he says."
"Citron views that as oversimplifying the matter. “They’re not public. They’re private,” she says. Taken to its logical conclusion, referring to all of social media as a public square would mean that all content moderation is prohibited. Buchwald’s decision, Citron says, suggests a clearer understanding of some important nuances. It applies specifically to elected officials and government agencies, and says that as long as they’re soliciting comments from the public, they can’t pick and choose who gets to speak.
“In an age when we’re seeing so many norms broken by government regarding free speech, this is an important and right decision,” says Citron. “It sends a message that we’re not going to destroy free speech norms.”"