FB censorship, U.S. official edition: Disappearing comments

Post date: 2020-02-21 05:55:32

My Congressperson (R., House) has an official Facebook page where he posts news and opinions about government matters large and small. Constituents can leave comments, but the comments do not display--that is, X number of comments have been made, but the hover tag over the number of comments shows the message "No visible comments." Is this currently legal?

It's not a full block--people are clearly posting--but constituent feedback is being disappeared. I know that politicians' use of social media has been litigated with respect to blocking, but how about this more devious tactic? What's the current thinking, and, more to the point, is this legal right now? Can you cite any cases including suppression, rather than blocking of constituent opinion? If this is not legal, would it be appropriate to contact my state's ACLU? What makes sense as a next step? If it is legal, can you help me understand how and why?

Please click Here to read the full story.