Melksham Town Council has voted to stop live streaming its meetings on Facebook over ‘safety concerns’, but the move has come under fire with some councillors warning this reduces transparency.
At a recent full council meeting, councillors debated a motion put forward by Cllr Jennie Westbrook to end the use of Facebook Live due to concerns over safety, technical reliability and online abuse. The motion proposed using Microsoft Teams, which the council also already uses, to broadcast meetings and uploading them to YouTube within 24 hours.
The motion from Cllr Jennie Westbrook read, “If the motion is not implemented, the Council would remain exposed to the continued risk of crime and antisocial online behaviour, including trolling, live abuse, and coordinated harassment. Facebook Live provides no tools to manage or moderate who watches or interacts during a meeting, and exposes councillors and officers to real-time targeting.”
Former mayor Tom Price, who served on the council for four years, attended the meeting and questioned the justification behind the move. He told councillors that although he had received abuse on social media, including on Facebook, none of it stemmed from live streaming.
Where is the evidence?
“Where is the evidence that Facebook Live exposes councillors to antisocial behaviour?” he asked.
Former mayor Simon Crundell also attended the meeting and asked, “Could you explain how removing it from Facebook and moving it over to Teams is in the spirit of transparency?” He urged councillors, “Please examine your conscience and please vote in the spirit of transparency.”
During the discussion, Cllr Phil Alford, warned that the move would “deliberately reduce the transparency of this organisation.”
“I think the transparency we get from using Facebook has been well established,” he said. “To change the platform now, particularly to one which is less well used, is going to result in a reduction in transparency. Many residents do follow our videos and council meetings on Facebook.”
He also raised concerns about accessibility for older residents, many of whom, he said, are more familiar with Facebook than Microsoft Teams. “If we move to this now, we are disproportionately penalising older residents who don’t have such comfortable access with Teams,” he said.
Cllr Adrienne Westbrook backed the motion, acknowledging the council had faced difficulties in recent months and expressing hope that it could now begin to improve. “It’s not been good. We’re hoping to turn a corner. I think we need to be able to turn that corner without the goldfish bowl that actually we have been living in,” she said.
Incidents of abuse
She and other councillors referred to incidents of abuse directed at both councillors and officers, arguing that continuing to stream meetings live on Facebook left individuals vulnerable.
Cllr Jennie Westbook added, “This is not about removing transparency. Just because you are removing the ability to watch something on Facebook Live, we are not removing the ability for you to watch it.”
The motion also allows meeting footage to be edited before being uploaded to YouTube in cases of a “safeguarding breach”. However, the council has not yet published a policy outlining how such breaches will be identified, who will be authorised to make the edits, or what software will be used.
Editing of footage
In a letter to the Melksham News, Cllr Jon Hubbard, who was unable to attend the meeting, also raised concerns about the potential editing of footage. He suggested that turning off comments during the live stream would be a better solution.
“The justification given was concern about inappropriate Facebook comments during live streams. While I acknowledge these concerns are valid, they hardly justify such a drastic reduction in transparency. Simple solutions exist – such as disabling comments during live broadcasts – that would address the problem without compromising public access to real-time council proceedings,” he said in his letter.
Following the debate, councillors voted in favour of no longer using Facebook Live to stream meetings.
After the meeting, Melksham News submitted a series of questions to the Town Council, asking for the evidence surrounding the motion, including how many incidents of abuse were linked specifically to Facebook Live, and how many councillors had been advised to contact the police in relation to abuse on Facebook.
In response, the council declined to provide detailed answers, instead issuing a general statement:
“Our position is rooted in a duty to protect the wellbeing of our staff and councillors. Abuse whether online or in person cannot and should not be normalised in public life… In all cases where councillors have reported feeling threatened, they have been advised to report these incidents to the police.”
The statement added, “Given the nature of the actions in question, we do not believe a more detailed response is warranted. We are confident that our approach is measured, proportionate, and fully justified.”
Despite highlighting Facebook as a risk, the council continues to operate an active Facebook page, which regularly shares updates and promotes the work of councillors. When asked by Melksham News whether this contradicted the reasoning behind the motion, the council did not respond directly.
