Farragut adopts social‑media policy after heated debate over moderation and free‑speech safeguards

The Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved an amended social‑media policy (Resolution R26‑03) by a 3–1 vote on Feb. 12, ending hours of public comment and debate about how town‑sponsored platforms should be moderated.

The measure, introduced by staff and presented by Communications Manager Wendy Smith, lays out categories of content town staff may remove from town pages — including defamation, threats, spam and personally identifiable information — and clarifies that the town must avoid viewpoint discrimination. "I've been using social media to communicate with the town for nine years," Wendy Smith said, describing the policy as a safeguard against misuse and fraud. Smith said the policy is intended for rare interventions, not routine removal of disagreement.

During public comment, local resident Kim Parks argued the policy was overbroad and risked unlawful censorship. "This is not about manners... It's about power and whether you actually have it," Parks said, urging the board to identify statutory authority and warning the town against implementing moderation before a public vote. Parks also alleged that comments had already been hidden under the existing practice and called the policy's discretionary language — including terms like "off‑topic" and "misinformation" — ripe for selective enforcement.

Town attorney Tom Hale responded by reading relevant municipal authority and stressing constitutional limits. Hale cited Tennessee Code Annotated provisions allowing municipalities to regulate certain uses and read language he said supported regulating the town's own platforms: "[T]he municipality may define, prohibit, abate, suppress, prevent and regulate all acts, practices, conduct... detrimental to the health, morals, comfort, safety, convenience, or welfare of the inhabitants," he said, adding that the policy must be implemented consistent with First Amendment law.

Board members pressed staff on implementation details. Vice Mayor Meyer and others requested a clear appeal or reporting process; staff said they would document any removals with screenshots and could provide reporting to the board on a monthly or quarterly basis. An amendment was proposed — and accepted as recommended by municipal consultants — to add explicit language that the town "has the authority to disable comments on any of its social media platforms," including on public‑safety or emergency posts.

The final roll call recorded Alderman Kane voting no and Alderman LaCroix, Vice Mayor Meyer and Mayor Ron Williams voting yes. The board approved the amended resolution 3–1 at approximately 7:08 p.m.

The policy change followed exchanges between residents and staff about past moderation decisions; staff representatives denied that viewpoint‑based takedowns had been carried out in bad faith and described an internal review process that would involve the communications manager, a second staff reviewer and the town attorney if questions arose. Mayor Williams and the attorney emphasized that adopting a policy is not itself unlawful, but cautioned that unlawful implementation could violate constitutional protections.

Next steps: the policy will be posted with the amended language approved by the board. Staff said they will provide documentation of any incidents and recommended that the board consider creating a formal appeal or review procedure in a future amendment.