The City of Langford has launched its first social media policy in the wake of what Mayor Scott Goodmanson has termed “thinly veiled death threats” aimed at members of council.
Council approved the policy on June 19, outlining “clear guidelines” for staff, the public and council on how to communicate effectively and appropriately on social media platforms.
“The policy clearly defines the overall purpose of social media used for city business and spells out the nature of respectful, safe and constructive dialogue,” said a city news release.
“This policy sets the tone and expectations around acceptable use of and engagement practices through city social media accounts,” Goodmanson said in the news release. “Recently, there has been utterly inappropriate dialogue online, including thinly veiled death threats, to members of council. This is simply unacceptable and will not be tolerated. It is alarming and very disappointing that some members of the public believe it is acceptable to act in such an appalling manner towards elected officials.”
This policy will allow for more “robust” two-way public engagement, said Goodmanson.
The city said the communications department has been working towards building staff capacity to better support council’s mandate for more rigorous public engagement, and to encourage constructive two-way communication with residents.
As part of this process, the city said it will soon establish a Facebook account and will adhere to the new policy to support communication with residents.
In the coming weeks, city staff will launch the Facebook page along with something called Let’s Chat Langford. This online public engagement program will be hosted on the city’s website. Residents can register for updates by visiting letschatlangford.ca.
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