Be careful what you comment on an elected official’s social media page. If they don’t like it, they might block you – thanks to a new state law. 

Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 1306 into law on Monday, giving all elected officials in the state the power to block someone from viewing or interacting with an official’s social media pages – for any reason – effective immediately.

The law applies to elected officials’ personal social media accounts, even if they use them for official business, but not accounts that are attached to a specific political office or use government resources. With this criteria, almost all social media accounts of local officials, such as city council members, and even state legislators, are considered personal. 

“An elected official doesn’t surrender their private right of free speech upon taking elected office,” Polis said in a signing statement. “In their personal capacity, just as if they were not in elected office, they should be able to ban toxic commentators if they choose to.” 

Proponents of the bipartisan bill said it would protect elected officials from abusive and disruptive social media users. Critics argued allowing blocking for any reason would lead to elected officials blocking constituents and deleting comments simply because they don’t agree with the official’s politics, making it more difficult to communicate with and hold officials accountable. 

The law comes as the Supreme Court is preparing to hear two cases regarding whether it is unconstitutional for elected officials to block people on social media. Courts throughout the country have deliberated on the issue for years. 

The bill aligns Colorado law with last year’s 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in Lindke v. Freed. That ruling states that an elected official can block individuals from their social media account if the account isn’t paid for by government funds, if the official has no legal duty to have an account, and if the account remains with the official after they leave office. 

Polis said official accounts have a “higher standard to be open to the public” than personal pages, citing his @GovofCO Twitter account, which is owned by the state and passed down to each governor. Under the new law, Polis can’t block anyone on that account, but he can block people from his personal @jaredpolis account, though he uses it with his official title and posts about official state business. 

Court rulings have been inconsistent regarding whether the First Amendment restricts public officials from blocking private individuals on any social media.

The 2nd Circuit found it unconstitutional for then-President Donald Trump to block people on his personal Twitter in 2019. The U.S. Supreme Court later tossed the case as moot because Trump was no longer president. That same year, the 4th Circuit ruled against the chair of a county board of supervisors for blocking a constituent and, in 2022, the 9th Circuit ruled against school district officials for blocking parents. But in 2021, the 8th Circuit ruled in favor of a Missouri state representative who blocked a constituent.

Polis and sponsors of the bill clarified that the new law will not stop future potential lawsuits against elected officials who block their constituents. 

“I also want to make sure that elected officials don’t view the presence of this statute as a safe harbor for the activity allowed under this law due to ongoing litigation,” Polis said. “I encourage the General Assembly to monitor the Court’s opinion in these cases, and if needed, to pass future legislation for my signature that amends this bill to conform with the Court’s decision.”

In Colorado, these kinds of cases have largely resulted in settlements. Senate President Leroy Garcia, state Sen. Ray Scott, Lafayette Mayor Christine Berg and Thornton Council Member Jan Kulmann were all sued for blocking or limiting constituents on social media. In all four of those cases, the elected officials settled out of court and agreed not to block constituents in the future.