The U.S. Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit in Davison v. Randall, has ruled elected officials cannot delete comments or block users on their “government official” Facebook page. The court found, “government official” pages are a public forum, and users’ First Amendment rights are protected. Therefore, deleting comments or blocking users of the page is censorship.
What is a “government official” page?
When setting up a Facebook page, users can choose the type of page they would like. Elected officials and candidates may choose one of the following:
“Government Official”
“Politician”
“Public and Government Service”
“Political Candidate”
In this ruling, personal Facebook accounts and political campaign pages were distinguished from “government official” pages. At this time, elected officials using their personal Facebook page or their campaign Facebook page, may delete comments and block users. But that may change in the near future depending on President Trump’s appeal regarding a recent District Court ruling that he can no longer block critics from his personal Twitter account, @RealDonaldTrump.
If the Court of Appeals Second Circuit affirms the ruling that President Trump cannot block critics on Twitter, then local elected officials may be prevented from doing so on their personal social media pages and their campaign pages.
As a local elected official, it is important to be aware of the different page types when setting up your public Facebook page to avoid censorship and lawsuits. Following best practices, separate your Facebook account into three pages:
- Personal profile,
- Campaign page, and
- Elected official page.
Next, separate the content you post by page type. Your elected official page should feature government activities through your position as an elected official. On your campaign page, share political events and campaign activities. And on your personal page, keep it fun and light by posting pictures of fun activities with family and friends.
Finally, keep all comments and allow all followers on your Elected official page, even if the user is being rude, obnoxious, or writing foul language. It is their First Amendment right to do so because the courts have determined your “government official” page is a public forum. Deleting comments or blocking users is censorship and may result in a lawsuit.
For any questions or concerns regarding your social media accounts, please contact us at any time.