Arizona town forms department to monitor, control online speech of its employees: Report

A town in Arizona formed a department to allegedly monitor and control the online speech of its employees, AZ Free News reported Thursday.

The town of Gilbert, located within Phoenix's metropolitan area, created the Office of Digital Government, which some claim is being used to restrict the speech of the town's employees. According to KTVK, the ODG was formed five years ago.

The department, which may be the first of its kind, is committed to "developing forward-thinking policies." It is responsible for "all internal, external and digital communications, public relations, marketing and open data initiatives" for the town, according to its website.

Corinne Murdock with AZ Free News reported that the town spends over $1 million yearly in taxpayer funds to cover the salaries of the department's workers who "control town employees and elected officials' online speech to ensure conformity with a progressive political agenda." The employees' annual salaries range from "well over $60,000" to $200,800, according to the report.

The department monitors online posts from the town's employees, including private social media pages. If an employee posts a political opinion that does not align with the liberal agenda, the department contacts the employee to pressure the employee to remove the post, AZ Free News reported.

A former employee, who asked to remain anonymous, told the news outlet that they left, in part, due to the department's overreach. They noted that all messages posted to social media had to be approved by the ODG.

"It was difficult to get anything accomplished," the former employee told AZ Free News. "Everything was so tightly managed. People on the ground there were upset because they couldn't do anything."

"When I worked there, they were pushing the chiefs of police and fire to be more liberal. Then there's those emails about how excited they were about getting the chief to kneel to BLM," the former worker added.

Austin Vanderheyden with the Goldwater Institute told KTVK, "If they don't like what's being posted, they're going to let you know about it," he said, referring to the ODG.

According to Vanderheyden, 10 to 12 department employees are monitoring the online activity of other town workers.

Gilbert Councilor Jim Torgeson told KTVK that the department confronted him about removing a survey he posted "too early" on his personal Facebook profile.

"Twenty minutes later, I got a call from somebody on staff asking me to take it down and it was on my private Facebook," Torgeson explained.

Vanderheyden called it "a classic example of government overreach."

Gilbert sent the news outlet a statement that read, "The Town of Gilbert is proud of its Emmy award-winning Office of Digital Government and the outstanding work of the ODG team that has resulted in record levels of community engagement and interaction over the years. We recognize that our community relies on us to share information and engagement opportunities in ways that are fully inclusive and we are committed to ensuring that our communications reflect this at all times."

"The Town has been clear that we will not tolerate divisive, offensive or culturally insensitive posts from employees purporting to represent the Town. To ensure this commitment to our public is maintained, the Office of Digital Government is the official source of information and communications to our residents and business owners. There is no further need to address the false claims from anyone, including disgruntled former employees," it added.

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