Politicians’ use of Twitter faces legal test

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson is the target of a test legal case that could prompt politicians all across the country to reconsider their use of social media.

Three city residents are seeking a court order declaring that Watson infringed their constitutional right to freedom of expression by blocking them from his Twitter feed.

Watson said Wednesday that it’s his personal Twitter account and he has the right to decide who can see his tweets or comment on them.

“I have the right not to be attacked and harassed by the same individuals on a regular basis,” he said in a brief statement.

“I believe in civility in public discourse, and this type of behaviour would not be tolerated in a face-toface debate. I look forward to dealing with this matter in due course.’’

But Paul Champ, the lawyer representing the trio, said Watson uses his Twitter account to communicate with Ottawans about municipal issues and it is, therefore, “profoundly undemocratic” for him to block certain residents.

“Mayor Watson is an elected public official who uses his Twitter account for public purposes and for his public business. He uses it to tweet about announcements and policies and bylaws and emergency issues, all kinds of things related to the business of the City of Ottawa,” Champ said in an interview.

“The residents of Ottawa, who are citizens, have the right to view those tweets and, if they want, given the platform of Twitter, to express their opinions on that.”

Champ said the same arguments could apply to other social media platforms, such as Facebook where politicians routinely delete comments that they find disagreeable or offensive and with which they don’t want to be associated.