"Threats of physical violence鈥� and 鈥渟exually explicit鈥� comments on the City of Langford鈥檚 Facebook has prompted councillors to take action to protect staff.

Originally launched in August 2023 as a platform to quickly share news and information with the public, a city staff report says the social media page has become 鈥渁n outlet for unkind and inappropriate dialogue amongst members of the community.鈥�

鈥淭hese comments are not occasional, but unfortunately are becoming the norm,鈥� said Donna Petrie, senior manager of communications and economic development, at the April 7 meeting. 鈥淟ong strands of unkind and mean-spirited conversations back and forth between members of the public are becoming more common and get out of hand quickly.鈥�

Petrie noted that recently, the comments have 'escalated' to include violent and sexual content.

To create a safe online environment, staff are having to spend 鈥渃onsiderable time鈥� monitoring the comments, which can include 鈥渓ate into the evening and all weekend,鈥� said Petrie.

According to the social media policy report, 鈥渢he public and staff are also reporting mental fatigue as many of the comments are offensive and unkind which can be challenging to read.鈥�

In anticipation of the city voting in favour of disabling comments on the Facebook page, a handful of residents urged councillors to think twice at the April 7 meeting 鈥� none spoke in favour of restricting public engagement on the site.

鈥淎 municipal Facebook page isn鈥檛 just [public relations], it鈥檚 a public square,鈥� said Tanya Sunshine, who suggested the council block repeat offenders from commenting.

鈥淧unishing everyone for the behaviour of a few gives trolls exactly what they want 鈥� to disrupt and dominate the space,鈥� she added.

With no town hall meetings, other residents said the removal of Facebook comments would provide another barrier to communication with the city.

鈥淟angford residents are already limited in the ways they have to have any sort of substantial feedback with council members,鈥� said Mike Morton.

However, it was noted by councillors and staff that there are multiple avenues for the public to engage with the city, including the Let鈥檚 Chat Langford website and public engagement events.

鈥淭he safety and security of our staff 鈥� a healthy workplace for them 鈥� that鈥檚 our responsibility as councillors,鈥� said Coun. Lillian Szpak, who proposed the motion to amend the city鈥檚 social media policy.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not to shut down our community, it鈥檚 not to limit commentary, it鈥檚 to have a respectful workplace for our staff.鈥�

Councillors unanimously voted in favour of adopting the amended social media policy. As of April 8, it says 鈥淐ity of Langford limited who can comment on this post,鈥� below each of the city鈥檚 Facebook posts.