The Maryland General Assembly will soon lift its Facebook ban. Del. Kumar Barve, House Chair of the Joint Advisory Committee on Legislative Data Systems, told the New Line this morning that “Facebook will be allowed back on our system in a few days.” The ban will be lifted after the General Assembly IT department installs “protective software.” MySpace will continue to be blocked.
The move by the General Assembly to restore access to Facebook is a swift reversal of the decision to block the site from the computers of members and staff. The policy, first reported by the New Line, was just put into place just five days ago.
The ban caught the attention of state and national media, including the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the Baltimore Sun. A Facebook group formed to protest the policy attracted over 300 members, including 20 members of the General Assembly.
UPDATE: The Washington Post has more.
6 Responses to “BREAKING: Maryland General Assembly Will Lift Facebook Ban”
Maryland General Assembly Bans Facebook, MySpace on 11 Feb 2009 at 11:54 am #
[...] Malik | Friday, February 6, 2009 | 7:15 AM PT | 4 comments Update: Maryland General Assembly has removed the ban on Facebook and will allow access to the site soon. As of February 11, 2009, MySpace continues to [...]
Tech scores in stimulus bill, Sirius XM prepares bakruptcy filing, Modu stages modular phone launch » VentureBeat on 11 Feb 2009 at 12:11 pm #
[...] Modu prepping its launch of modular phones: Phones with components that can mix and match will debut this fall. Techcrunch has more . Salesforce.com president Steve Cakebread surfaces: Shortly after resigning from software-as-a-service leader, Cakebread joins Saas start-up Xactly. Business Insider has more . Maryland to lift Facebook ban: General Assembly plans to lift ban after installing protective software. [...]
Ryan Ewing on 11 Feb 2009 at 1:00 pm #
I want to know why this facebook group, which I joined yesterday, has all of the sudden become a “secret” group, which I got a message this morning will soon be deleted, and referred to this blog article as the grounds for doing so.
Were the legislators embarrassed to be shown in protest of the facebook ban? Or that they had to join a group to protest it in the first place?
Try clicking on the link (20 members of the General Assembly) to see this group… if you are not already a member of the group, you won’t find it.
They also took off the “wall” function of the group, so group members cannot publicly comment on their thoughts or activities within the group.
What is this all about?
I would think that these legislators, a bi-partisan group, would be all about this remarkable coalition for freedom of speech. I didn’t expect them to stifle it themselves once they achieved the narrow aims of restoring their personal facebook usage. What a missed opportunity.
Miss N. Thrope on 11 Feb 2009 at 5:04 pm #
ELEGY FOR MR. GEE
Seen to rudely plod the hall
To have himself look large though small
Followed by the other two
At least one of which hath not a clue
Known betimes as Mike the Knife
He scowls and howls and thrives on strife
His head is packed with plans and plots
His greedy eyes seek out weak spots
Computers rule, so I’m the man
What else can I usurp or ban
Hmm, Facebook, why is that allowed
I’ll claim a virus and they’ll be cowed
Oh, sing a dirge for Mr. Gee
His power grab was sad to see
He made the blogs, he caused a fuss
His hubris made the members cuss
So now his pix with egg-smeared face
Is featured on his own “MySpace”
Oh, sing a dirge for Mr.Gee
His grip’s not what it used to be.
Benjamin Wright on 13 Feb 2009 at 9:40 am #
Fake buddy/friend requests on Myspace and Facebook are a security threat and therefore a reason for blocking social sites. http://computersafety.wordpress.com/2009/01/26/facebook-myspace-identity-theft/ –Ben
e.politics: online advocacy tools & tactics » Quick Hits — February 17, 2009 on 17 Feb 2009 at 1:10 pm #
[...] Maryland General Assembly Will Lift Facebook Ban, via TechRepublican. [...]