Anne Arundel County Police Department (MD): Social Media Settings

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Anne Arundel County Police - Public Information Request

This form is to be used for Anne Arundel County Police and Animal Care and
Control Requests ONLY. For all other Public Information Requests please
complete this form: https://www.aacounty.org/pia/index.html Requests for
Information can be submitted using the form below. Please select from the
dropdown below of commonly requested pieces of information. If there is not
a request type listed that adequately describes your request, please
select "Other". Once your request is submitted, you will be notified by a
County representative indicating the result of your request. This
representative will disclose any fees associated with the request and
details regarding the method for viewing the requested information. Anne
Arundel County and its members will abide by all local, state and federal
laws governing the release of public records. Upon receipt and review of
your request you will receive a response within a reasonable time, but no
later than 30 days.

Email *

requests@muckrock.com

Information Requested *

Police Reports, Notes, Photos, 911 Audio, etc.

Applicant Name *

Adam Steinbaugh

Applicant Address *

MuckRock News DEPT MR 128005 411A Highland Ave Somerville, MA 02144-2516

Telephone Number

617-299-1832

Report # and/or Identify the Records that you want to Inspect *

To Whom It May Concern: Pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act, I
hereby request the following records: With respect to the Facebook page
located at http://www.facebook.com/aacopd and the Twitter account
https://twitter.com/AACOPD, 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 (eg, https://www.facebook.com/aacopd). (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/aacopd/settings/?tab=settings. The third option:
(a) Log in as an administrator of the page. (b) Navigate to the Facebook
page (eg, https://www.facebook.com/aacopd). (c) Go to this URL:
https://www.facebook.com/aacopd/settings/?tab=settings&ref=page_edit&section=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 (eg, https://www.facebook.com/aacopd). (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 (eg, https://www.facebook.com/aacopd). (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 10 calendar days,
as the statute requires. Sincerely, Adam Steinbaugh 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 10 calendar days, as the statute
requires. Sincerely, Adam Steinbaugh Attachments:
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/adamsteinbaugh/107942/facebook-and-twitter-settings-examples.pdf
Upload documents directly:
https://www.muckrock.com/

Police Department Fees

$ 5.00 Police report*/CAD notes $ 35.00 Report retrieval (archived reports)
$ 40.00 Audio/Photo/Video record $ 1.00 Color photo copy * Reports more
than 20 pages and other records are charged $ 0.25 per page. Reproduction
and archive retrieval fees may apply. An hourly fee will be assessed for
requests that require more than 2 hours to fulfil. Personal/outside discs,
drives or other media storage use is not permitted.

I have read the Police Department Fees and *

I am willing to pay all fees for this request without prior notification.

I am willing to pay fees up to the dollar amount listed below. If you
estimate that the fees will exceed this limit, please contact me.

I am requesting that fees be waived of fees requested. I am requesting this
waiver on the grounds listed below.

Maximum Fee Willing to Pay

25

Please Indicate Reason for Fee Waiver

Are you a "Person In Interest"? ex: involved party, legal representative,
etc.

Yes (please explain)

No

Please Explain

Create your own Google Form

Report Abuse

This correspondence is pertaining to your request for public record(s).
Specifically, you have requested information pertaining to the Department’s
Facebook and Twitter accounts. . Your request has been reviewed in
accordance with Maryland Public Information Act, Annotated Code of
Maryland, General Provisions Article § 4-101, et seq. (MPIA).

Social media provides a potentially valuable means of assisting the
department and its personnel in communicating with the public for community
outreach, information sharing, and criminal investigation engagement. The
Department’s Facebook and Twitter accounts are managed by the Department’s
Media Relations Division (MRD) personnel and a number of other persons
authorized to do so by the Chief and/or the MRD. In carrying out those
duties, they must access the Department’s page using their own personal
accounts which may or may not be private or otherwise identify them as
public employees. The privacy standards afforded to persons in social media
results in their public disclosure being contrary to the public interest,
and could in fact interfere with the Department's and sworn Officers
private use of social media to carry out law enforcement activity. In order
to protect the privacy of the individual’s personal social media accounts,
we will not disclose those accounts authorized to manage those accounts.
For those same reasons, we will also not disclose the individual social
media accounts that are blocked from the Department’s social media
accounts. These denials are in accordance with MPIA § 4-343,
4-351(b)(1)(3) and (7).

Regarding the remainder of your request, please find the attached records
responsive to the Department's Twitter account. MRD staff have attempted to
produce records of the Department’s Facebook page according to your
request. However, the screens and available options made visible to our
users do not correspond to your instructions. They have nonetheless
attempted to extract records as closely as possible, but have experienced
extensive delays and errors (see the attached screenshot).

At this time more than two hours have been dedicated to trying to fulfil
your request unsuccessfully. Once the technical support needed is obtained,
I estimate that it will take between 6 and 8 additional hours to fulfill
your request. Based on the hourly rate of the County employee who would
process the remainder of your request ($43.06 per hour), the estimated
range of billable fees after two hours for the Police Department to process
your request is $258.36 to $344.48. Accordingly, if you would like to
proceed, please send a check payable to "Anne Arundel County” for the
minimum fee estimate in the amount of $258.36 to my attention at 8495
Veterans Highway Millersville, MD 21108. Upon receipt of the check, work
will begin to complete the processing of the potentially responsive
records. You will be required to pay the difference if the actual fee
exceeds the minimum, and given a refund if it is less. I do not yet know
whether all of the responsive records in whole or in part are subject to
disclosure, but, if any are to be withheld, the response will explain the
reason for that.

You may challenge any part of this response to your request by filing an
action in the appropriate court of law pursuant to MPIA § 4-362. You may
also contact the Public Access Ombudsman per MPIA § 4-1B-04.

Sincerely,
Christine Ryder
Anne Arundel County Police Department
Custodian of Record

It is well understood that there is no expectation of privacy when posting
to social media platforms. With regard to the persons tasked with managing
the Department’s social media accounts; however, those individuals have the
right to participate on those platforms as private persons and not present
themselves as public employees. Disclosing those account names publicly
would upend just that.

With regard to blocked users, those actions were taken against users who
either have posted inappropriate content to the Department’s site, or have
attempted to post content using a vulgar or explicit username. The Agency
does not have the resources to constantly monitor content but wishes to
keep comments open to the public in order to encourage community
engagement. Blocking a very limited number of offensive users allows us to
maintain that level of openness.
Sincerely,
Christine Ryder
Anne Arundel County Police Department
Custodian of Record

This correspondence is pertaining to your request for public record(s).
Specifically, you have requested information pertaining to blocked users
and terms for the Department’s social media accounts. Your request has been
reviewed in accordance with Maryland Public Information Act, Annotated Code
of Maryland, General Provisions Article § 4-101, et seq. (MPIA).

Pursuant to MPIA § 4-203(b)(2) it is reasonably expected that it will take
more than 10 business days to respond in full. The reason for this is
because the responsive records/information are in the custody of specific
individuals with whom I must collect and coordinate with. I am in the
process of doing that and response can be expected within the required 30
days.

Sincerely,
Christine Ryder
Anne Arundel County Police Department
Custodian of Record

Good morning. I apologize for the delay, our resources have recently been
impacted by covid related shortages. I anticipate recovering and catching
up, including your response, this week.

Thank you for your patience,
Christine

This correspondence is pertaining to your request for public record(s).
Specifically, you have requested information pertaining to blocked users
and terms for the Department’s social media accounts. Your request has been
reviewed in accordance with Maryland Public Information Act, Annotated Code
of Maryland, General Provisions Article § 4-101, et seq. (MPIA).

Please see the attached two documents which list the user accounts that
have been blocked from the Department's Facebook and Twitter pages. With
respect to the blocked terms, we have had difficulty producing a record of
the list of terms. Rather than delay response further for this effort, I
have included the list of words below (explicit).

*fuck,shit,motherfucker,ass,asshole,bitch,nigger,nigga,whitetrash,white
trash,pussy,faggot,scum,thugs,cracker,thug,pos,pigs,sob,ghetto,obama,nobama,liberal,fcuk,sh!t,cock,vagina,thot,shits,dick,cocksucker,ahole,a-hole,prick,faggots,f
uck,f ucker,$hit,cunt,bastard,bastards,fail,douch,douche,douchebag*

Please let me know if you have any questions about this response. You may
challenge any part of this response to your request by filing an action in
the appropriate court of law pursuant to MPIA § 4-362. You may also contact
the Public Access Ombudsman per MPIA § 4-1B-04.

Sincerely,
Christine Ryder
Anne Arundel County Police Department
Custodian of Record