Social Media and Local Governments

The new edition of Social Media and Local Governments: Navigating the New Public Square updates the guide to cover the many changes to social media platforms and terminology from the intervening years; years in which social media use by governments, government officials, and employees has been growing rapidly. In addition, much has changed in the legal landscape, with the United States Supreme Court and other courts weighing in on many thorny legal issues the first edition could only speculate about.

Social Media and Local Governments: Navigating the New Public Square, Second Edition provides practical information to government attorneys, officials, and employees in their use of social media in the government setting. Topics include:

• What social media is and who uses it.
• How local governments can benefit from use of social media
• How communities across the country implement social media in their communication activities
• First Amendment implications with government social media usage.
• Sunshine laws, disability protections, copyright and artificial intelligence, and privacy concerns
• Government official and employee use of social media, whether at the workplace or on their own time, and the various legal issues they can encounter.
• Ethical issues faced by public officials in the social media context, including members of quasi-judicial boards and commissions and government attorneys.
• And more!