Hoboken Council Votes Down $500 Fine For Social Media Blocking

HOBOKEN, NJ — The Hoboken City Council voted 5-4 on Wednesday night to defeat a proposal to fine Hoboken elected officials who block commenters on social media. The measure would have fined officials $500 per person whom they blocked on Facebook, Twitter, or a similar site.

The three council members who supported the measure — Phil Cohen, Emily Jabbour, and Michael Russo — had said it was specifically drafted "after receiving complaints from residents who for years have been blocked on Twitter and Facebook by Councilmember Mike DeFusco."

A Hoboken mayoral election looms six months from this week, and Mayor Ravi Bhalla, a close ally of two of the council members, is up for re-election. DeFusco, a potential opponent, came within 500 votes of defeating Bhalla four years ago. READ MORE: Hoboken Council To Introduce $500 Fine For Social Media Blocking

DeFusco told a news outlet this week that he recently formed a committee to explore running for mayor.

DeFusco argued this week that his social media accounts were not official or funded by tax dollars. Council members only get city-issued email addresses.

An ally of DeFusco, Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, said determining such a violation was a matter for the courts, not local government, who could "weaponize" social media during a campaign.

The matter of the fine would presumably be determined by the local prosecutor.

DeFusco said Tuesday that political opponents have used his page "to post false, personal attacks against me."

In fact, TAPInto noted this week that "Hoboken’s social media landscape is famously choked with politically connected bots and burner accounts, deployed to harangue opposing parties," referring to this past story.

The ordinance did make an exception for "the instance of targeted harassment as specified by the respective social media platform" although Twitter and Facebook have been criticized in recent years for not being aggressive enough in banning false news and other types of harassment.

Cohen and Jabbour released a joint statement after the vote saying that the proposal ended up having a positive effect on discourse.

“While we would have liked to have seen this ordinance advance to second reading so that the public could weigh in on this matter of great public interest," they said, "we are gratified that by our introducing this legislation, Councilman DeFusco has now 'unblocked' many individuals he had previously prohibited from engaging on his ‘Councilman Mike DeFusco’ social media platforms."

They added, "We strongly maintain that any official social media account which communicates about official city business must not unfairly censor individuals and infringe on First Amendment rights.”

DeFusco said Tuesday, "I reserve the right to delete posts that violate the comment policy posted publicly on my Facebook page. Social media can be an incredibly toxic place and I hope that my opponents can be more mindful of the importance of keeping discussions about local politics and government civil and informative."

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