Monterey County Sheriff's Office: Social media settings and hidden Facebook comments

To Whom It May Concern:

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

This request seeks records relating to the Facebook page located at https://www.facebook.com/MontereyCountySheriffsOffice and Twitter account @mcosheriff. 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.

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 (i.e., https://www.facebook.com/MontereyCountySheriffsOffice).
(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 https://www.facebook.com/MontereyCountySheriffsOffice/settings/?tab=settings.

The third option:
(a) Log in as an administrator of the page.
(b) Navigate to the Facebook page (i.e., https://www.facebook.com/MontereyCountySheriffsOffice).
(c) Go to this URL: https://www.facebook.com/MontereyCountySheriffsOffice/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.

Please note that this request seeks a copy of the list of words contained in the "Content Moderation" list. If the list of words on that list is not included in the above records, please ensure that the list is produced by clicking "Edit" next to the "Content Moderation" setting.

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 (i.e., https://www.facebook.com/MontereyCountySheriffsOffice).
(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 (i.e., https://www.facebook.com/MontereyCountySheriffsOffice).
(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. For each of the "THREADS" identified below, a copy of any hidden comments, with all comments expanded, as visible when logged in as the page. The records of the hidden comments on the full thread may be accessed through this process:
(a) Log in as an administrator of the page.
(b) Navigate to the url of the thread.
(c) Make sure you are interacting with the page as the page: Click the down-pointing arrow next to the user icon (located near the top of the thread, to the right of the "Like," "Comment," and "Share" buttons) and, on the "Choose How to Interact" menu, select the name of the page.
(d) Click "Most Relevant" (or "Newest" or "All Comments" or "Hidden by This Page") and, on the menu, select "Hidden by This Page".
(e) Make sure the thread is fully expanded: Scroll through the comments and click the links reading "1 reply," "replies," or "View more comments" to expand the thread.

For purposes of this request, "THREADS" means and refers to the posts located at:
(a) https://www.facebook.com/MontereyCountySheriffsOffice/posts/pfbid0xRfSoCT2d2hLuiJJk9t73LNcEVSsNF16WDEp1TdGLaU7bEgFDQXN6K7XH2DbKbW1l

5. A copy of the lists of users blocked by the @mcosheriff 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

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

Dear Commander Simpson --

Per your request for authority: Information within a database is a "writing" within the meaning of the CPRA. See, e.g., Comm’n on Peace Officers Standards and Training v. Superior Court, 42 Cal.4th 278, 288 n.3 (2007). The information requested is stored by MCSO on social media websites and, as such, is a "writing" under the CPRA.

Best,

Adam Steinbaugh