SLO council adopts new social media rules. Good news: Thai curry recipes are exempt
The San Luis Obispo City Council unanimously adopted a new social media policy Tuesday to comply with state rules on how members may communicate electronically after the mayor was called out for blocking residents on Facebook and Instagram earlier this year.
The amended communications policy, recommended by City Attorney Christine Dietrick, lays out parameters for how City Council members must use accounts such as Facebook and Instagram when they discuss city business.
In January, SLO Mayor Heidi Harmon came under fire from some members of the community for blocking several people on social media, some of whom have openly disagreed with her on issues.
Harmon was advised by the City Attorney’s Office to unblock followers so the public could view social media communications on SLO matters.
“There’s no reason or excuse to break the law (around social media use), especially those regarding free speech,” local radio host Adam Montiel said at the time. “She should welcome different opinions, not actively and illegally shut them down in public forums used for city business.”
Harmon announced she was pausing “all social media to focus on what’s really important right now: our city and our citizens. Our newsletter will be the main way we can all stay connected.”
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New SLO social media guidelines
The new policy advises council members not to block the public from access to social media posts or delete posts related to city matters.
Council members should clearly delineate private and city-related accounts and post messages and comments accordingly.
Official campaign accounts should also be labeled differently to clearly indicate those communications.
And elected officials also must preserve public records related to city business and not communicate with each other on social media platforms on issues related to government matters, among other measures.
Dietrick said the issue is “a matter that we’ve been talking about for some time.” The new rules align the council’s policies and procedures with the state’s Brown Act regulating transparency and open and public meetings and government business.
“Especially during COVID, social media has been a very valuable communications tool,” said Dietrick, adding that the city doesn’t have control over council members’ accounts or review them.
“There shouldn’t be an expectation of privacy if public officials use accounts to conduct public business,” Dietrick added.
Harmon didn’t comment on the new policy at the meeting, though she voted in support along with the rest of the council.
Community member Tim Jouet said in public comment that the discussion is a good reminder that public officials give up some privacy rights when they sign up for the job.
“I know this is a really sticky subject. ... We’re not all meant to be friends here in the public realm,” Jouet said. “These rules and regulations as far as collusion, behind-the-scenes backroom dealing, when you become a public figure, you are giving up a lot of rights the public needs reserved.”
Discriminatory or threatening comments can be removed
Dietrick clarified that when commenters’ social media posts become discriminatory or threatening, a council member can take that content down but should still preserve it for the record.
In January, Dietrick told The Tribune that Harmon previously blocked people on her accounts due to “unrelenting negativity and the trolls who not only comment on her feeds directly, but also have made toxic remarks to her supporters.”
Dietrick added: “We all have a lot of very important and time-consuming city work to do around COVID, social change, climate action, and a thousand other things, and she felt petty social media battles were a wasteful distraction.”
But Montiel, the host of “Up & Adam in the Morning” on Coast 104.5 and “Cork Dorks” on Krush 92.5, said Harmon blocked him in March 2020 for posting a comment he made highlighting best practices on proper social distancing and public health and safety protocols.
That was in response to a photograph Harmon shared that included two senior citizens seated together, he said.
“I was just pointing out something that I thought needed correcting about social and physical distancing,” Montiel said. “... It’s true she blocks people for literally just disagreeing with her, correcting her, or really, anything she wants to. And it turns out, that’s illegal.”
On Tuesday, Council member Jan Marx asked about sharing informal or personal conversations with fellow council members, such as “Hey, I got this great Thai curry recipe” or feeding the cat as a favor.
“We can talk about stuff that’s completely outside the city’s jurisdiction ... is that correct?” Marx asked.
Dietrick responded that those types of conversations aren’t restricted.
“Last I checked, Thai curry was not within the subject matter jurisdiction,” Dietrick said.
Don’t mix public and private content
But city staff members have consistently advised council members against “mixing” city and private content in matters of SLO business, they wrote in a staff report.
“The city has recently experienced an increase in (Public Records Act) requests for records from private-held social media accounts on which council members have posted and/or received comments on matters of city business,” the staff report notes.
Courts have found constitutional violations where the public was blocked from interacting with such accounts, or posts were deleted, the staff report notes.
The city has advised a “cautious approach” to assume any record of discussion on city business should be considered public.
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