Hi Everyone, I recently received an email from a concerned resident claiming that one of the comments posted on my social media profile is defamatory.
Technically I don?t think the comments were actually defamatory but the emotions and sentiments have the same effect and these human impacts matter.
Back in 2021, there was a High Court decision that made administrators of social media pages personally liable for any defamatory comments posted on their page, even if the comments are posted by a third party. This places social media administrators in an awkward position because if they take it seriously, they need to be vigilant over every single comment that is made on their page – or they need to shutdown their page.
It is extremely difficult to do perfectly because we are not awake and available online 24/7.
I know that with some recent posts about housing, emotions have run high and various people have made all sorts of comments. I thank you for your engagement. But just to play it safe I’ve decided to hide various comments if they target or name individuals. I might even close off individual posts from further comments. I hope you understand.
I do anticipate that in the coming weeks there will be an escalation of commentary in the housing space when our council staff reveal the alternate TOD scenarios that they have been preparing. I am keen to keep you on top of the latest news, and let?s keep our comments constructive.
