Bloggers due to turn up at Clevedon meeting after Twitter ban
A backlash against Clevedon Town Council's Twitter ban has started with protesters due to turn up at next week's meeting so they can blog or tweet what happens.
Bristol Democracy Project is drumming up support for volunteers to attend Clevedon Town Council meetings to tweet on the proceedings.
The group says new laws introduced by the Government, this month, mean meetings must be transparent and open to social media updates.
Councillor Jane Geldart had started to tweet about what was on the agenda at a meeting in July but the council stopped this and future tweets were banned.
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Councillor David Shopland, who put forward the proposal, said piecemeal information from a meeting posted online could be misconstrued and did not always give an accurate picture of business being discussed.
Bristol Democracy's Twitter campaign says: "The government specifically said this new law was designed to 'make it easier for new social media reporting of council executive meetings, thereby opening proceedings up to internet bloggers, tweeting and hyperlocal news forums'.
"So, we're assembling a band of willing volunteers to attend future Clevedon Town Council meetings to tweet about what happens at them, as encouraged by the new law."
Protest group Clevedon First members are also supporting the plans on Facebook. The town council meeting is due to start next Wednesday at 7.30pm.
Clevedon Town Council was unavailable for comment.
Comments
by katachua
Saturday, September 29 2012, 2:58PM
“Quite right too! Many of these Twitterers are under sixty and therefore not to be trusted. Let's keep Clevedon Council business confined to the over-seventies who know what Clevedon really needs - i.e. golf courses and not skate parks...”