Navy base settles with military spouse over Facebook ban, revises social media policy

A Georgia naval base has agreed to revise its social media policy as part of a settlement with a military spouse who sued after officials blocked him from the base’s Facebook page. The dispute arose over comments he made questioning the base’s handling of a power outage.

Settlement Terms

In the agreement filed last month, Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay agreed to:

• No longer block or remove comments based on their expressed viewpoints, aligning its policy with the Navy’s social media handbook.
• Admit that it violated the Navy’s policy and the plaintiff’s constitutional rights. (No monetary award was included.)
• Update the base’s social media pages to state that comments by the general public “will not be banned or blocked” because of their opinions.

Legal Context

Michelle Scott, an attorney with the Center for Individual Rights (CIR), which filed the case, said in a statement that plaintiff Sergio Rodriguez asked the kinds of questions anyone would ask during a long power outage.

“The Navy doesn’t get to open a comment section, invite the public, and then delete anyone who asks an inconvenient question,” Scott said. “This settlement makes clear that the government can’t silence its critics with the click of a button.”

In July, a CIR plaintiff settled another case in which a North Carolina National Guard unit banned a former guardsman from its Facebook page after he criticized the unit’s leadership. That case also resulted in the unit adopting moderation policies that prohibit removing, hiding, or filtering comments because they are deemed “inappropriate.”

Background of the Case

According to the complaint, Rodriguez responded to the base’s post announcing a power outage in base housing on August 12, 2024. He asked:

• Whether the base had plans to temporarily relocate residents during the outage due to excessive heat and humidity.
• How residents could be reimbursed for spoiled food.

The lawsuit described Rodriguez as a disabled Army veteran whose wife served as a supply officer on the naval base. After retiring from the Army, he became an accomplished advocate for military families. He was named “spouse of the year” by Armed Forces Insurance and received a commendation from President Joe Biden.

While the page administrator responded in the thread, Rodriguez said he also received a call from the base commander’s wife informing him that he had been banned from the page. When he later tried to access the page, he found that he had been blocked.

Plaintiff’s Statement

In his lawsuit, Rodriguez argued he “suffered irreparable injury” because being banned from the page limited his ability to communicate with and receive information from other base residents.

“Base Facebook pages are where military families turn when they’re searching for answers,” Rodriguez said. “When I was banned, I lost the ability to advocate for those families. Those families lost access to a person who was willing to ask hard questions on their behalf. It wasn’t enough for the base to quietly restore my access without ever admitting they were wrong.”

About the Author

Daniel Terrill is a contributor to Military Times. He has been reporting on military issues, the gun industry, and the outdoors for nearly two decades. Although writing is his passion, he has been a Marine, police officer, and, perhaps the most dangerous job of his career, a substitute teacher.