Since 2008 various cases regarding public officials blocking individuals on Twitter have gone through the court system. Repeatedly the courts have affirmed much of the public’s right to read and reply to these government communications. In fact, the recent departed Governor of Maryland, settled a case outside of court related to this very issue, paying a penalty of $65,000.
A public official is certainly allowed to have a private social media account without violating the First Amendment. However, there are some stipulations to what these accounts are allowed to post to be considered private. In general,
Courts have looked to a variety of factors to determine if a social media account is used for governmental business and therefore must be open to the public. For example, a site is more likely a site for government business if a public official generally allows individuals to ask for government services through a social media account, links through the account to a public office address, email or phone number, displays government symbols, shares information about government services or meetings, and/or asks for input about how government business should be conducted.
Let’s turn our eyes to the new Montgomery County Council president, Evan Glass. Evan operates two social media accounts on twitter (@evanmglass and @CMEvanGlass). Others on the county council take a similar approach, while some just have 1 twitter account. The difference with Evan is that he is a serial blocker. He has made claims that this is allowed because his @evanmglass account is his private account and he only conducts business on his @CMEvanGlass account. This would make you believe that his “private” account is full of dog pictures….it’s not. Since Jan 2022, Evan has used the term “Montgomery County” on his “private” twitter account 119 times. He has posted both his own press releases (in capacity as council member) and County press releases. He has interacted with members of the public on different policy related issues. He has informed the public of recent projects being funded by the County, and their progress. He was a vocal tweeter of the need to leverage MoCo services to get vaccinated or stay masked. He has shared pictures of functions he has attended in a public capacity. The list goes on and on. The reality of the situation is that Evan’s “private” account is not used for private issues. He posts links to county websites and services, not pictures of a date night, or a cool vacation. Additionally, his “private” account has a following of 10,5000 people, while his other account has a little over 2,000 followers.
Evan is directly violating the First Amendment rights of the people of Montgomery County. And it’s a capital offense in that those he blocks hold beliefs or viewpoints that are different than his. What is shocking is that Evan is a big proponent of transparency. Let’s take a look at a few of his tweets from his “private” account.
Evan should immediately release the extent of the accounts he has blocked. He can do so by clicking this link using his @EvanMGlass account.
Let’s have some transparency Evan.
