Bristol, TN, restricts protected speech on the city’s social media pages

The government of Bristol, Tennessee, issued a policy restricting comments on the city’s social media pages, including a prohibition on comments that “[c]ontain any information or statements that would negatively affect the city’s image.” On April 18, 2023, FIRE and the National Coalition Against Censorship sent a letter to Bristol objecting to the unconstitutional policy and explaining that the city’s social media accounts create a public forum where First Amendment protections apply. The city subsequently revised the policy to eliminate its unconstitutional restrictions.