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Loudoun resident files civil rights suits against county officials over social media censorship
Loudoun resident files civil rights suits against county officials over social media censorship
Friday, Mar. 24, 2017 by Sydney Kashiwagi, skashiwagi@virginianewsgroup.com
If Loudoun County government officials want to tell the public about an upcoming Board of Supervisors committee meeting, they turn to Facebook. ... When the threat of inclement weather looms, the county’s official Facebook page is there to provide the community with tips on how to prepare. ... Virtually all county entities and elected officials use social media to communicate with constituents. ... But just as simple as it is for county leaders to send their message out with the click of a button, they can swiftly manage who can respond to those messages, and, in some cases, they may have gone too far in deleting and blocking constituents.
Loudoun County resident Brian Davison says he has been the victim of social media censorship by various county arms, and he believes his right to free speech was infringed upon. ... Over the last two years, Davison has filed three separate Civil Rights lawsuits against the Loudoun Board of Supervisors and Chairwoman Phyllis Randall (D-At Large), Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Plowman (R) and the Loudoun County School Board for either blocking him from their Facebook pages or deleting critical comments he posted.
When he sought an answer from School Board members about a Freedom of Information Act he filed for the school system’s student growth percentile (SGP) scores, he says his comments on several board member’s Facebook pages were deleted, and he was blocked. ... When Davison posted a Facebook comment on the Commonwealth’s Attorney's Office Facebook page accusing Plowman's office of refusing to investigate perjury from LCPS, he was blocked and his comment deleted. ... Loudoun County Government also may have deleted Davison's comments when he criticized County Attorney Leo Roger’s determination that a text spat between supervisors did not violate the Virginia Freedom of Information Act laws, although, in that case, Facebook has admitted it may have deleted the comment without any involvement of the county.
Davison also says he was temporarily blocked from what he believes is Chairwoman Phyllis Randall’s official Facebook page. ... Davison thinks citizens of all perspectives have the right to engage in dialogue on public social media pages of government officials. ... “Political speech is the most protected speech in this country's founding,” Davison said. “Anybody can go to a park or public sidewalk and advocate for change both complementing government officials as well as criticizing them.” ... But the Lansdowne resident thinks many Loudoun County officials see themselves as being “above the law.” Davison says he wants to hold them accountable by getting federal written opinion on how elected officials should respect the First Amendment on social media. ... And it turns out Davison’s story may not be unique.
Friday, Mar. 24, 2017 by Sydney Kashiwagi, skashiwagi@virginianewsgroup.com
If Loudoun County government officials want to tell the public about an upcoming Board of Supervisors committee meeting, they turn to Facebook. ... When the threat of inclement weather looms, the county’s official Facebook page is there to provide the community with tips on how to prepare. ... Virtually all county entities and elected officials use social media to communicate with constituents. ... But just as simple as it is for county leaders to send their message out with the click of a button, they can swiftly manage who can respond to those messages, and, in some cases, they may have gone too far in deleting and blocking constituents.
Loudoun County resident Brian Davison says he has been the victim of social media censorship by various county arms, and he believes his right to free speech was infringed upon. ... Over the last two years, Davison has filed three separate Civil Rights lawsuits against the Loudoun Board of Supervisors and Chairwoman Phyllis Randall (D-At Large), Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Plowman (R) and the Loudoun County School Board for either blocking him from their Facebook pages or deleting critical comments he posted.
When he sought an answer from School Board members about a Freedom of Information Act he filed for the school system’s student growth percentile (SGP) scores, he says his comments on several board member’s Facebook pages were deleted, and he was blocked. ... When Davison posted a Facebook comment on the Commonwealth’s Attorney's Office Facebook page accusing Plowman's office of refusing to investigate perjury from LCPS, he was blocked and his comment deleted. ... Loudoun County Government also may have deleted Davison's comments when he criticized County Attorney Leo Roger’s determination that a text spat between supervisors did not violate the Virginia Freedom of Information Act laws, although, in that case, Facebook has admitted it may have deleted the comment without any involvement of the county.
Davison also says he was temporarily blocked from what he believes is Chairwoman Phyllis Randall’s official Facebook page. ... Davison thinks citizens of all perspectives have the right to engage in dialogue on public social media pages of government officials. ... “Political speech is the most protected speech in this country's founding,” Davison said. “Anybody can go to a park or public sidewalk and advocate for change both complementing government officials as well as criticizing them.” ... But the Lansdowne resident thinks many Loudoun County officials see themselves as being “above the law.” Davison says he wants to hold them accountable by getting federal written opinion on how elected officials should respect the First Amendment on social media. ... And it turns out Davison’s story may not be unique.
