American civil liberties groups want politicians to stop blocking people from their social media accounts.
美国公民自由团体希望政客不要在社交媒体上拉黑网友。
And those politicians include President Donald Trump.
这些政客包括美国总统特朗普。
The American Civil Liberties Union, known as the ACLU, filed a lawsuit against the governor of the state of Maine.
美国公民自由联盟（ACLU）起诉了缅因州州长。
The group also sent warning letters to the congressional members from the state of Utah.
该组织还向犹他州的国会议员发出警告。
That comes after the ACLU filed lawsuits against the governors of Kentucky and Maryland in early August.
在此之前，美国公民自由联盟在8月初起诉了肯塔基州和马里兰州州长。
In July, a free speech organization connected with Columbia University in New York City sued President Trump.
7月份，与纽约市哥伦比亚大学有关的一家言论自由组织起诉了总统特朗普。
The president often uses Twitter to communicate with the American people.
总统特朗普经常通过推特与民众沟通交流。
But some Twitter users say they have been blocked by Trump for sending tweets he did not like.
但是一些推特网友表示，因为发布了一些总统反感的推文而被拉黑。
Those people can no longer send messages to Trump on Twitter.
这些人再也无法在推特上给特朗普发送信息。
That action raises questions about what elected officials can do on their social media pages.
此举引得民众纷纷质疑民选官员在社交媒体的作为。
In the past, politicians may have held public meetings to learn the concerns of voters.
过去，政客可能会举行公众集会以了解选民的关注点。
Now, however, they use Facebook and Twitter to have online conversations with voters.
而现在，他们通过脸书和推特与选民在线交流。
Anna Thomas is a spokeswoman for the ACLU of Utah.
安娜·托马斯（Anna Thomas）是犹他州美国公民自由联盟的发言人。
She said voters see their representatives as available on Twitter and Facebook.
她指出，选民们认为可以在推特和脸书上随时与候选人交流。
"They're hungry for opportunities to express their opinions," she said. "That includes people who disagree with public officials."
她说：“选民们渴望有机会表达他们的观点，其中包括与候选人意见相左的选民。”
The officials targeted by the lawsuits and warnings so far are all Republicans.
目前被诉讼或收到警告的官员皆为共和党人。
They say they are blocking people who post "hateful and violent content," "spam" and "off-topic comments."
这些官员表示，他们拉黑的是发布“仇恨与暴力言论、”“垃圾邮件”以及“不相关评论”的网友。
Matt Whitlock is a spokesman for Orrin Hatch, a U.S. senator from Utah.
马特·惠特洛克（Matt Whitlock）是犹他州参议员奥林·哈奇（Orrin Hatch）的发言人。
He said people are only blocked after they violate rules.
他说，只有违反规定的网友才会被拉黑。
Whitlock said Hatch's Facebook page should not be used as a platform for "offensive content or misinformation."
惠特洛克表示，哈奇的脸书主页不应该成为网友发布“攻击性言论或不实信息”的平台。
Katie Fallow is a lawyer at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University in New York City.
凯蒂·法洛（Katie Fallow）是纽约市哥伦比亚大学奈特第一修正案研究所的律师。
Her organization filed the lawsuit against Trump last month.
上月，其所在的组织对特朗普发起诉讼。
She said politicians who choose to use social media "can't pick and choose who they hear from."
她说，选择社交媒体的政治家不应该“对网友挑挑拣拣。”
U.S. courts have not heard cases like these before.
美国法院之前没有遇到过类似案件。
But one legal expert said the free-speech advocates like the ACLU probably will be able to make a stronger case than the politicians.
不过一位法律专家表示，像美国公民自由联盟这样的言论自由倡导者比政客们更能折腾。
Erwin Chemerinsky is the head of the law school at the University of California – Berkeley.
欧文·凯莫林斯基（Erwin Chemerinsky）是加州大学伯克利分校法学院的院长。
He said the officials may be able to block followers only if they are blocking supporters and critics alike. "It's got to be content-neutral," he said.
他指出，官员拉黑网友的同时也要屏蔽相同数量的支持者。他说：“余下的言论才能不偏不倚。”
While the question of whether politicians can block people from their social media pages may seem minor, one expert says it is quite important.
一名专家强调称，虽然关于政客是否应该拉黑网友的问题看似微不足道，但是却十分重要。
Amanda Shanor works for the Information Society Project at Yale University's Law School.
阿曼达·萨诺尔（Amanda Shanor）在耶鲁大学法学院的信息社会项目工作。
With more of the political discussion happening online, she said, "it's more important that we know what these rules are."
她说：现在网上的政治讨论越来越多，“了解这些规则就愈加重要。”
I'm Dan Friedell.
丹·费里德尔为您播报。
【词汇解析】
1.social media 社交媒体
We have all witnessed the power of social media.
我们见证了社交媒体的实力。
2.known as 被称为
In Los Angeles, the neighborhood known as Watts erupted into riots.
在洛杉矶，一个叫做沃茨的街区爆发了动乱。
3.no longer 不再
She no longer feared that they should misunderstand her.
她不再害怕他们会误解她了。
4.public meeting 公众集会
We hold weekly public meetings.
我们召开每周一次的群众集会。
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