Is the list of Twitter accounts an elected official has blocked from their personal feed a public record under Florida's Sunshine Law?

Plain-English summary

The City of Gainesville's attorney asked whether a list of accounts blocked from an elected official's personal Twitter feed was a public record under section 119.011(12), Florida Statutes. Senior Assistant Attorney General Gerry Hammond said the question involved "mixed questions of law and fact" that the office could not resolve. He said the answer required determining whether the tweets that resulted in the blocks were themselves public records.

Hammond offered a conditional observation: if the tweets were public records, a list of blocked accounts prepared in connection with them "could well be determined by a court to be a public record." He cited Butler v. City of Hallandale Beach, 68 So. 3d 278 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011), concerning a mayor's personal email unrelated to municipal duty, and State v. City of Clearwater, 863 So. 2d 149 (Fla. 2003), concerning private documents stored on government computers. The letter did not decide whether the tweets or the list were public records, or what follows for a list connected with personal tweets.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2016. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Why couldn't the AG issue a formal opinion?
A: Hammond said the request raised mixed questions of law and fact that the office could not resolve. The letter does not establish whether the tweets at issue were public records.

Q: What did Butler v. City of Hallandale Beach actually hold?
A: As the letter describes it, the Fourth District Court of Appeal held that a mayor's personal email was not a public record because it was not sent in connection with any municipal duty. Hammond offered the case to help Gainesville assess the Twitter question; he did not decide that question by analogy.

Q: What about State v. City of Clearwater?
A: As the letter describes it, the Florida Supreme Court held that storing private documents on a government computer alone does not make them public records. Hammond cited the case as another source of guidance for Gainesville.

Q: How does the test work for a Twitter block list?
A: First, the status of the tweets that resulted in the blocks must be resolved. If those tweets are public records, Hammond said a list of blocked accounts prepared in connection with them "could well be determined by a court to be a public record." The letter supplies no finding about the tweets or the list in this request.

Q: Did the opinion say anything about personal versus official Twitter accounts?
A: The request concerned an official's personal Twitter feed, but the response did not decide whether its tweets were public records. It also gave no rule for a block list associated with personal tweets.

Q: Can a Florida official block constituents without legal consequence?
A: The letter does not address whether an official may block constituents. It discusses only whether the requested list might be subject to inspection and copying under Florida's Public Records Law.

Background and statutory framework

The request cited section 119.011(12), Florida Statutes. Hammond explained that, absent a statutory exemption, Florida's Public Records Law provides access to materials made or received by an agency in connection with official business and used to perpetuate, communicate, or formalize knowledge.

The letter cited Shevin v. Byron, Harless, Schaffer, Reid & Assoc., Inc. for that description of the Public Records Law. It also pointed to Butler's treatment of a mayor's personal email and Clearwater's treatment of private documents on government computers. These examples help frame the unanswered question about the tweets.

For the blocked-accounts list, the letter goes no further than saying that a court could well find it to be a public record if it was prepared in connection with tweets that were themselves public records. It makes no finding about a list associated with personal tweets.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• § 119.011(12), Fla. Stat. (definition of public records)
• Chapter 119, Fla. Stat. (Public Records)

Cases:

• Butler v. City of Hallandale Beach, 68 So. 3d 278 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011) (personal email not a public record)
• State v. City of Clearwater, 863 So. 2d 149 (Fla. 2003) (private documents on government computer not public records by storage alone)
• Shevin v. Byron, Harless, Schaffer, Reid & Assoc., Inc., 379 So. 2d 633 (Fla. 1980) (test for public-records status)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/public-records-twitter
• Official print view: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/print/pdf/node/1516

Original opinion text

Ms. Nicolle Shalley, City Attorney

City of Gainesville

Office of the City Attorney

Post Office Box 490, Station 46

Gainesville, Florida 32627

Dear Ms. Shalley:

On behalf of the City of Gainesville and its elected officials, you have requested assistance in determining whether a list or record of accounts which have been blocked from posting to or accessing an elected official's personal Twitter feed is a public record as defined in section 119.011(12), Florida Statutes, and therefore subject to public inspection and copying. Attorney General Bondi has asked me to respond to your letter.

In the absence of a statutory exemption, Florida's Public Records Law provides a right of access that applies to all materials made or received by an agency in connection with the transaction of official business which are used to perpetuate, communicate, or formalize knowledge.[1] However, the question presented in your request involves mixed questions of law and fact that this office cannot resolve.

A determination of whether the list of blocked accounts is a public record requires resolution of the question of whether the "tweets" which resulted in the blocked accounts, were public records. If the "tweets" the public official is sending are public records, then a list of blocked accounts, prepared in connection with those public records "tweets," could well be determined by a court to be a public record.

Several recent public records cases may be helpful to you and to the public official involved in determining whether these records are public records within the scope of Florida's Public Records Law. See, e.g., Butler v. City of Hallandale Beach, 68 So. 3d 278 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011), rehearing denied (personal email sent by the mayor was not sent in connection with the discharge of any municipal duty and therefore was not a public record under Chapter 119); and State v. City of Clearwater, 863 So. 2d 149 (Fla. 2003) (private documents stored in government computers cannot be deemed public records solely by virtue of their placement on an agency-owned computer).

I trust that these informal comments will be helpful to you in advising your client.

Sincerely,

Gerry Hammond

Senior Assistant Attorney General

GH/tsh

________________

[1] See, e.g., Shevin v. Byron, Harless, Schaffer, Reid & Assoc., Inc., 379 So. 2d 633 at 640 (Fla. 1980).