Maine Governor Sued for Deleting Facebook Comments
Maine's Governor Paul LePage may be in hot water afterwards censoring people on his official Facebook folio.
The American Ceremonious Liberties Union of Maine has filed a lawsuit against LePage on behalf of two women who say the governor deleted their comments on his Facebook folio and blocked them from further commenting.
The ACLU says LePage uses his Facebook page, titled "Paul LePage, Maine's Governor," to perform authorities business, so blocking people who disagree with him "constitutes viewpoint discrimination and government censorship in violation of the US and Maine constitutions."
The ACLU of Maine sent a letter to LePage on July 24 demanding he end censoring users on his page and restore blocked users. They requested a written response inside two weeks and never received 1.
The governor's function did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment, simply posted a argument about the matter on Facebook arguing that the page is "Paul LePage's official politician page - non a regime page."
"This page was started past volunteers in the governor'south start entrada to support his candidacy," the statement reads. "Subsequently that time it became his official political page. This page has never been managed by taxpayer-funded land employees." The message goes on to say that the folio "has always noted it is for those who support the governor."
The ACLU evidently disagrees. They debate that the page is, indeed, an official government page: the governor and his staff utilize the page to share information and press releases, the page has been "verified," and up until July 24 it was likewise linked to from the official Maine.gov website.
"Social media has quickly go a crucial tool for constituents to express their opinions to public officials," ACLU of Maine Attorney Meagan Sway said in a statement. "Free voice communication must be protected from government censorship on Facebook simply every bit is it in whatever other public forum."
The suit comes after Facebook in March introduced a characteristic called Town Hall that helps people find and connect with their elected representatives and in June rolled out constituent badges to assist elected officials find and connect with their constituents on the platform. Constituent badges are designed to help elected officials more easily identify comments from people who alive in their district. If you lot opt to plow information technology on, a little badge volition testify up next to your proper name when yous comment on content shared by your representatives.
About Angela Moscaritolo
Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/news/16948/maine-governor-sued-for-deleting-facebook-comments
Posted by: bergmanlonseped.blogspot.com
0 Response to "Maine Governor Sued for Deleting Facebook Comments"
Post a Comment