Omaha Police Department (NE): Social Media Settings

Dear Adam Steinbaugh:
Thank you for your interest in public records of the City of Omaha. Your request has been received and is being processed. Your request was received in this office on 6/30/2022 and given the reference number P000943-063022 for tracking purposes. Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Nebraska Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

With respect to the Facebook page located at http://www.facebook.com/OmahaPoliceDepartment and the Twitter account https://twitter.com/OmahaPolice, I request the below records.

An example of what each of these records look like is attached and available at https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21579793-facebook-and-twitter-settings-examples. Examples of these records as produced by hundreds of other public entities may be found here: https://www.documentcloud.org/app?q=%2Bproject%3Asocial-media-censorship-s-45722%20sort%3A-created_at%20.

I request:

1. A copy of the full settings for the Facebook page, including records relating to the "Page Visibility," "Country Restrictions," "Age Restrictions," "Content Moderation," and "Profanity filter" settings. (For an example of this, see the first page of the examples at the above URL.) These records may be accessed through one of three processes:
The first option:
(a) Log in as an administrator of the page.
(b) Navigate to the Facebook page (e.g., https://www.facebook.com/OmahaPoliceDepartment).
(c) On the lefthand side of the page, where it says "Manage Page," scroll to "Settings," located at the lefthand side of the bottom of the page.
(d) Click "General" on the lefthand side of the page.

The second option:
(a) Log in as an administrator of the page.
(b) Go to the following URL: https://www.facebook.com/OmahaPoliceDepartment/settings/?tab=settings.

The third option:
(a) Log in as an administrator of the page.
(b) Navigate to the Facebook page (e.g., https://www.facebook.com/OmahaPoliceDepartment).
(c) Go to this URL: https://www.facebook.com/OmahaPoliceDepartment/settings/?tab=settings&ref=page_edit§ion=download_your_page
(d) Click "Download your page"
(e) Select "HTML," "High," and "All time" in the available options.
(f) Make sure only the "Page profile information" and "Page settings" boxes are checked.
(g) Click "Request a download."
(h) When the information is ready to download, enter the password to download it.
(i) Press "confirm."
(j) Provide the files contained in the .zip file.

2. A copy of the list of banned people and pages. This record may be accessed in this manner:
(a) Log in as an administrator of the page.
(b) Navigate to the Facebook page (e.g., https://www.facebook.com/OmahaPoliceDepartment).
(c) On the lefthand side of the page, where it says "Manage Page," scroll to "Settings," located at the lefthand side of the bottom of the page.
(d) Click "People and other Pages" on the lefthand side of the page.
(e) On the menu labeled "People who Like this Page," select "Banned People and Pages"

3. A copy of the list of "Page Roles." This record may be accessed in this manner:
(a) Log in as an administrator of the page.
(b) Navigate to the Facebook page (e.g., https://www.facebook.com/OmahaPoliceDepartment).
(c) On the lefthand side of the page, where it says "Manage Page," scroll to "Settings," located at the lefthand side of the bottom of the page.
(d) Click "Page Roles" on the lefthand side of the page.

4. A copy of the lists of users blocked by the Twitter account. This list can be obtained through this process:
(a) Log into the account.
(b) Visit this URL: https://twitter.com/settings/blocked/all
(c) Visit this URL: https://twitter.com/settings/blocked/imported

5. Any policy concerning public use of or interaction with the Facebook and Twitter accounts.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 4 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Adam Steinbaugh

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City of Omaha

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City of Omaha
Jean Stothert, Mayor Todd R. Schmaderer
Chief of Police

Omaha Police Department
“To Serve and Protect”
505 South 15th Street
Omaha, Nebraska 68102-2769
(402) 444-5600
(402) 444-5898
police.cityofomaha.org (mailto:police.cityofomaha.org) Dear Adam, On behalf of Chief of Police Todd Schmaderer, I am responding to your request for Omaha Police Department records.  Your request is made pursuant to the provisions of the Nebraska Public Records Act.  In your request dated June 30 2022, you sought  the following information:  1) A copy of the full settings for the Facebook page, including records relating to the "Page Visibility," "Country Restrictions," "Age Restrictions," "Content Moderation," and "Profanity filter" settings, 2) A copy of the list of banned people and pages; 3) A copy of the list of "Page Roles"; 4) A copy of the lists of users blocked by the Twitter account; 5) Any policy concerning public use of or interaction with the Facebook and Twitter accounts.  This is the response required by NEB. REV. STAT. § 84-712(4). The Nebraska public records statute allows persons the right to examine public records in the possession of public agencies during normal agency business hours, to make memorandum and abstracts from those public records, and to obtain copies of public records in certain circumstances. The statute do not require a public agency to review documents and create abstracts or other lists, to answer questions, or to create documents that do not otherwise exist. See NEB.REV.STAT. § 84-712. Although the Nebraska public records statutes provided for access to public documents, such access is not absolute. The statutes also provide for exceptions to disclosures by express and special provisions; there are 21 categories of documents that may be kept confidential from the public at the discretion of the agency involved. See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 84-712.05. Your request is denied in part and approved in part. Your request for the various administrative social media settings Facebook and Twitter, and the content within them is denied.  Even though the social media sites are open to the public for viewing and posting of comments, the information you are requesting is not for public dissemination pursuant to NEB.REV.STAT. 84-712.05. The Public Information Office (PIO) manages the Omaha Police Department's social media sites.  I have been told they do have a list of approximately 200 individuals blocked and banned from the early onset of our use of social media.  I am told that no one has been blocked or banned from our social media sites in several years.  We value the foundation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and as such we do not encourage blocking or banning citizens from our social media sites. Your request for the list of banned and blocked people and pages is denied, as this information is not for public dissemination pursuant to NEB.REV.STAT. 84-712.05. As previously mentioned, the PIO manages the Omaha Police Department's social media sites.  Your request for a copy of the 'Page Role' is denied pursuant to NEB.REV.STAT. 84-712.05. Your request for the policy concerning use or interaction within Facebook and Twitter can be found by clicking on the following link: https://public.powerdms.com/OPDEP1/tree/documents/2347571 Section 84-712.03 of the Nebraska Revised Statutes may grant you the right to administrative or judicial review of this response. Please consult the statute for further information. Chief of Police Todd Schmaderer is the sole entity responsible for denying a portion of your request. Thank you for your patience with this request.  If you have any questions about the legal basis for this response, please contact me at 402.444.6089. Sincerely, Anna