Somersworth Police Disable Facebook Comments; Direct Tip Channels Remain Open

September 12, 2025

By: Scanner Alerts Media Group

The Somersworth Police Department announced that comments will be turned off on future Facebook posts. Residents are directed to submit information via Facebook Messenger or the “Submit a Tip” form on the department’s website. F

The department’s approach is consistent with First Amendment guidance: government agencies are not required to host a public comment forum on their own pages. If an agency does open comments, any moderation must be reasonable and viewpoint-neutral under the public-forum doctrine established in Perry Education Association v. Perry Local Educators’ Association.

Courts also recognize that an agency’s own posts can be “government speech,” meaning the agency controls its message (e.g., Pleasant Grove City v. Summum; Shurtleff v. Boston). Turning off comments across the board is a content-neutral decision about the channel, not about any viewpoint.

Relatedly, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Lindke v. Freed clarified when social-media actions by officials count as state action: the official must both have authority to speak for the government and purport to use that authority. That ruling underscores that when agencies use official pages, First Amendment rules apply—making clear, bright-line policies (like disabling all comments) easier to administer than post-by-post judgments.

Agencies face practical First Amendment limits when they try to filter comments instead of disabling them. A federal court held that an Arkansas State Police Facebook page violated the First Amendment by using broad platform filters and custom banned-word lists—illustrating how selective filtering can become unlawful viewpoint or content discrimination in a designated forum.

Other agencies have made similar changes. In North Carolina, Kinston Police publicly explained a decision to limit comments on Facebook; in 2021, Wilmington Police stopped allowing comments, prompting public debate about First Amendment issues.

Public response to such policy changes is typically mixed, with some residents objecting and others welcoming a more civil channel for official notices—while tip lines and direct-message options remain available for feedback and information-sharing. The ACLU of Pennsylvania likewise notes that a government page may turn off all commenting, but if comments are allowed, moderation must be neutral and applied to everyone.

Nearby practice: Some neighboring public-safety agencies publish official updates without open comment threads, including South Berwick Police Department (ME) and Lebanon Fire-EMS (ME).