Dailybreeze.com reports that Redondo Beach has decided to delete its Facebook page after the City Attorney highlighted possible legal issues with maintaining a page on the popular social networking site.
According to the article, potential legal concerns pointed out by City Attorney Mike Webb include whether Redondo Beach would have to retain user comments under the state’s Public Records Acts, how officials would handle erroneous or vulgar posts protected by First Amendment rights and whether Facebook posts attracting comments from three or more council members would constitute a violation of the state’s open meetings law.
Although the City Council’s decision was to shut down its Facebook account, council members agreed the city will continue using other networking sites such as Twitter and YouTube.
“Social media is inevitable, but we just think from a legal point of view Facebook has too many complications,” said Webb in the article. “I would just prefer that the case law not have city of Redondo Beach in the title.”
The mayor, on the other hand, disagrees with the move. According to the article, Redondo Beach Mayor Mike Gin started a Facebook page earlier this year dedicated to saving the Seaside Lagoon, a local salt water swim park.
“We’re an open book. We’re supposed to be an open book,” said Gin. “I think we just need to suck it up, and we need to embrace it.”