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LA515\1\1063849.v1 <br />FIRST AMENDMENT ISSUES <br />Elected and appointed officials are afforded the same freedom of speech First Amendment rights as <br />every American,but there are times when an elected or an appointed official must act in certain ways <br />to ensure that everyone has the same ability to participate in discussions with that elected official. <br />For example,using social media to discuss City business could mean that an elected or appointed <br />official has created a “public forum”,similar to the public comments/inquiries portion of a city council <br />meeting, and therefore, cannot delete comments or block users from seeing what the official posts. <br />BEST PRACTICES <br />General Considerations –The fact of the matter is that elected and appointed officials will be held <br />accountable for what they say on social media.Posts in private groups may still become public and <br />deleted posts may be saved by others.Whether in the judicial system or in the court of public opinion, <br />what is said online can have far reaching consequences that impact local decision making as well as <br />state law and the Constitution of the United States. <br />Do No Mix Official with Personal –Establish dedicated accounts,or dedicated pages or subgroups for <br />platforms which only allows one account per user,for any content related to actions or work as an <br />elected or an appointed official. This will prevent a personal account from becoming a public forum. <br />Do Not Prematurely Discuss Official City Business –Elected or appointed officials should avoid stating <br />their positions or expressing their opinions on an item that will or may be before a commission or the <br />City Council prior to its consideration at a meeting.These statements could cause a number of issues <br />including potentially violating the Open Meeting Law,influencing the actions of other officials prior <br />to an official decision being made,or boxing an official into an opinion without first receiving all of <br />the facts. <br />Keep It Civil –The court of public opinion is important to consider.Posts might not be interpreted the <br />same way when in writing and not said aloud.The League of Minnesota Cities published an article in <br />which it advises against posting “controversial”content including racist or sexist content;political or <br />partisan content trashing an opponent;language disparaging immigrants;references to violence; <br />jokes about serious or tragic events;threats to city staff;and content that may create questions about <br />Open Meeting Law violations. iv <br />Consider Equity and Access Issues –Not everyone has access to social media.There are age,ability, <br />and socioeconomic factors that impact a person’s ability to access social media.For example,the <br />elderly may not know how use social media,certain platforms may not be accessible for individuals <br />with certain disabilities,and not everyone has a smartphone or reliable access to the Internet.These <br />factors make social media a less than ideal way to communicate to a broad audience and make the <br />discussion on City business open to all members of the public. <br />Consider Attending Social Media Training –Elected and appointed officials may want to consider <br />attending a social media training session.The League of Minnesota Cities offers an on-demand online <br />training,Social Media for Elected Officials:Best Practices and Legal Issues,which can be found at the <br />following web address:https://www.lmc.org/learning-events/learnings/social-media-elected- <br />officials/.