Gov. Larry Hogan’s Facebook page is the latest free speech battleground.
The Washington Post reported earlier this month that the Maryland governor blocked 450 people over the last two years. Some of the people who were blocked most recently were urging him to take a position on President Donald Trump’s immigration order.
The governor’s spokesman contended that people who were blocked were part of an organized campaign to spam the page.
Late last week, the American Civil Liberties Union decided to step in. The ACLU of Maryland sent a letter on behalf of seven of the people who were blocked, and requested a review of all of the people who were blocked.
“Social media has become a key way that constituents communicate with their elected leaders, and it violates both the First Amendment and Maryland’s own social media policy for government officials to block out any voices of dissent or those simply raising questions about positions taken by public officials sworn to serve,” said Deborah Jeon, legal director for the ACLU of Maryland.
In a statement to the Baltimore Sun, the governor’s office indicated that six of the seven people were reinstated. The statement also added that the “ACLU should be focusing on much more important activities than monitoring the governor’s Facebook page.”
Before you go...
Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.
3 ways to support our work:- Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
- Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
- Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
Join our growing Slack community
Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!