City of Pasco's Social Media Policy Criticized for Being Outdated and Lacking AI Guidelines
The City of Pasco, Washington, is facing criticism for its outdated social media policy for councilmembers, which still references platforms like MySpace, a platform that has been out of popular use since 2011. The current policy, Resolution No. 3821, fails to address emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), which presents both significant power and risk. The policy is described as vague, using suggestive language rather than clear prohibitions, making accountability difficult. It discourages, but does not disallow, councilmembers from conducting official business through private social media accounts, leading to ambiguity. Examples cited include councilmembers using private pages for city updates and constituent complaints, and sharing unverified information. The policy also lacks clear definitions for what constitutes official business versus personal opinions on social media, and does not provide guidelines for the use of AI in official communications.
