Best Practices for Social Media Use by
City Officials and Candidates
January 24, 2023
Presented by Keith F. Collins, Asst. City Attorney
Background
Background
• Social media has transformed the ways
candidates and elected officials interact with
constituents.
• This exposes the City and elected officials to
legal risk if social media use is not done
carefully.
Background
• On February 1, 2022, the Placentia City Council
adopted an amended Social Media Policy (Policy
No. 370) for City Officials and employees.
• The policy is a comprehensive document that sets
forth permissible and impermissible uses of official
City social media sites and personal social media
use.
• As a companion to the policy, staff recently
developed a streamlined "Best Practices" guide for
social media for use by City Officials and
Candidates.
Background
To avoid potential legal liability, candidates and
public officials should follow some "Best Practices"
with respect to how they:
Manage content and users on social media sites;
and
Interact with other officials on social media sites.
Managing Content and Users on
Official City social Media Accounts
Managing Content and Users on
Official City Social Media Accounts
• Official City social media pages, and those that are created by an official to communicate with constituents. are public forums where First Amendment protections apply.
• This means that critical comments cannot be deleted, and critical users cannot be blocked from commenting.
> How can we tell if the social media page is an "official" City social media page?
Managing Content and Users on
official City Socias Media Accounts
The social media site is an "official" City site where
First Amendment protections apply if enough of
these factors are present:
The page is named after the public official's title, such as "Mayor" or "Councilmember";
o The page lists the public officials' official City contact information; The public official is explicitly listed as a "public figure"; The page primarily contains videos and posts regarding current City issues and the public officials' work concerning those issues;
Managing Content and Users on
official City Socias Media Accounts
The social media site is an "official" City site where
First Amendment protections apply if:
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regarding votes or issues involving the public official and the body he or she is on;
The page contains photos or video of official business
at an official meeting;
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Managing Content and Users on
official City Socias Media Accounts
The social media site is an "official" City site where
First Amendment protections apply if:
The page is primarily used as a tool of governance to
communicate information regarding official votes that
were taken and the effects of that vote on the City;
oThe page uses government employees and public
resources to maintain the account;
The page contains an explanation of any official agenda item and/or meeting protocols.
Supervisor Don Wagner
6K followers • 30 following
Posts About Mentions Followers Photos Videos More
Intro
Get the latest by following @DonWagnerCA
O Page • Public figure
• 400 W Civic Center Drive , Santa Ana, CA, united
States, California
to (714) 834-3330
► l [email protected]
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• donwagnerca
® donwagnerca.com
Featured
Upcoming event
►X1 Send Email
SAT, DEC 17 AT 6 AM
Inaugural Trout Fishing Derby 11 Ir... 'f
17 Interested • 6 Going
® Follow
Q Search
Managing Content and Users on
official City Social Media Accounts
If enough of these factors are present, the social media site should be considered a "public forum" where users and their content have First Amendment protections.
Users should not be blocked, and comments should not be deleted from official City sites unless those comments violate the City's official social media policy (no profanity, threats, commercial posts, etc.)
"anaging Conte and Users on
Personal & Campaign Social Media
counts
Managing Content and Users on
Personal & Campaign Social Media Accounts
Social media accounts that are established for campaign or personal purposes cannot reasonably be considered an official City account.
Critical comments and users can be regulated on personal and campaign accounts.
>How can we tell if the social media page is a
campaign or personal social media page?
Managing Content and Users on
Personal & Campaign Social Media Accounts
The social media site is a personal or campaign
social media site where content and users can be
controlled if enough of these factors are present:
The banner photo on the page is a campaign or personal photo; The page is self -described as a campaign or personal page; The page is run by a campaign;
The email associated with the page is a campaign -related email or personal email account, not a City email address;
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Managing Content and Users on
Personal & Campaign Social Media Accounts
The social media site is a personal or campaign
social media site where content and users can be
controlled if:
The "Intro" and "About" sections of the page contain links to a campaign website or discuss personal items;
o The majority of the posts relate to the public official's campaign activities or personal activities rather than official City business. 4 Tim Shaw
472 followers • 0 following
Posts About Mentions Followers Photos Videos More •
About
Contact and basic info
Page transparency
Category
Political Candidate
Contact info
►�� [email protected]
Websites and social links
https://wmv.shawforschools.com/
0 team More
Q Message a Follow
17 2.91C friends • 30 mutual
Posts About Friends Photos Videos Check -ins More
About
Overview
Work and education
Places lived
Contact and basic info
Family and relationships
Details Ahnut Tim
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•
Friends
Trustee at Orange County Board of Education, Government Affairs Director at Pacific West Association of REALTORS T — and Adjunct Professor at Rio Hondo College
Past: City of La Habra - City Hall and OCTA
Studied Legislative Affairs at The George Washington University '0 AtterCed from 2003 to 2074
• Lives in La Habra, California
O From La Habra, Califomia
IDMarried to Shannon Bryant Shaw
since Juiy 23, 2005
18 Managing Content and Users on
Personal & Campaign Social Media Accounts
Candidates and officials can restrict comments and users from personal and campaign social media sites because these sites cannot reasonably be considered "public forums." These sites are not ".-.....-.•-•....-." .-.-C .. #: - I t_';4., I.....-.: ...
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However, if the candidate is elected, continuing the use of the campaign page to communicate with the public about official business is risky if users are blocked and/or critical comments are deleted.
The better practice is for the successful candidate to invite their followers to follow the candidate's official account instead of rnntini jinn to IMP the ramnainn arrni int or refrain from contrnllinn the content on campaign/personal sites.
Managing Content and Users on
Personal & Campaign Social Media Accounts
Remember:
City resources, including staff time, funds, computers, and other equipment, should never be used to promote or
populate campaign accounts. Govt. Code 8314.
Social Media Use by Officials &
Elected Candidates
Social Media Use by Officials &
elected Candidates
Members of the City Council and City Commissions/Committees are subject to the Brown Act.
('.anrlirlatcc AIArtcrl to the rihi Council are also cid-liar-I- to the Brown Act before taking office.
This means that generally, these individuals should not discuss official business with other members outside the context of a properly agendized public meeting.
Social Media Use by Officials &
Elected Candidates
Discussions on social media sites that involve these individuals can inadvertently violate the Brown Act.
Simply "liking" or reacting .. to a post on City business that another official has commented on can violate the Brown Act.
The better practice is not to comment or react to discussions on social media pages that touch on official business (Placentia Buzz, etc.) because it is very easy to miss another official's post or reaction earlier in a long discussion thread.
Questions & Comments