Mexico will force the authorities to respond to requests from citizens on Twitter. The Supreme Court of the Country (SCJN) ruled that the constitutional right to petition can be exercised through social networksTherefore, government agencies will be required to answer yes, according to certain rules. The above is related to the amparo lawsuit filed by a citizen who received no response from the government of Guadalajara after submitting three requests to the official account on the platform.
The country’s highest constitutional court ruled that a request made by Twitter should be handled in the same way.. Minister Mario Pardo Rebolledo noted that the petitions find protection in Article 8 of the Constitutionbecause they are placed on the institutional account, where the authorities carry out acts of interaction with citizens.
“The official use of the Twitter platform by an authority, which, in addition to informational purposes, included the collection and consideration of requests from citizens, obliges said authority to respond to requests that it subsequently receives through this channel.”
Supreme Court of the Nation (Twitter)
The SCJN decision comes after the amparo trial hosted by Joaquín Rivera Espinosa, citizen who requested information on government spending from the government of Guadalajara via Twitter. Rivera Espinosa also demanded that the street be paved and that the “franelero” be punished for allocating parking spaces on public roads. The local authorities did not react in any way, so the citizen turned to legal authorities.
Subsequently, the district judge denied the application of amparo, considering that Twitter is not an institutional channel for responding to inquiries. On appeal, the case went to the Supreme Court, and the First Chamber ruled in favor of the citizen. The government of Guadalajara is now required to respond to queries in your account. @GuadalajaraGob or a notice sent to the address of the affected party.
Authorities are required to respond to you on Twitter, albeit only in certain cases
Article 8 of the Mexican Constitution states that “public officials and employees will respect the exercise of the right to petition, provided that it is formulated in writing, in a peaceful and respectful manner.” In the case of Twitter certain rules must be followed to force the authorities to respond to their citizens.
The First Chamber concluded that petitions filed through the platform are protected by Article 8 of the Constitution; while there is confirmation that:
- The relevant authority is the owner of the account to which such requests are directed.
- The specified body has legally or institutionally authorized the use of this social network in the framework of the implementation of its official activities, even if it comes from everyday practice.
- There are indications that this authority is using the platform to collect and, if necessary, respond to inquiries, among other purposes, and not just for media use or simple dialogue with individuals.
- What the person expresses implies a sincere request that goes beyond comment or opinion.
All petitions must obtain written consent from the authority to which they were addressed, which is obliged to inform the petitioner as soon as possible.
official account of the government of Guadalajara, like other dependencies, interacts with its citizens. If a user makes a request on Twitter and the authorities ignore it, they may be acting through legitimate channels. However, while the law is on your side, the citizen will have to wait a considerable amount of time as protection measures will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.
What will happen to the accounts of officials?
Twitter has become an important communication channel for politicians. Article 8 of the Mexican Constitution refers to “public officials and servants”, although The decision of the VSP does not establish whether it considers personal accounts.
There are specific cases, such as the case of Rosa Isela Rodriguez, head of the Minister of Security and Citizens’ Protection. Profiles official And addiction they are confirmed by Twitter as government organizations and will be considered official channels. The only downside is that none of them have a direct dialogue with the townspeople, so they don’t have to answer.
Some the authorities have employees who monitor mentions in personal accounts or government agencies and send requests. According to the response of the HCPN, the person carrying out the action will be obliged to take action against the citizen. Each case is different, so the means of protection should be considered individually.
Source: Hiper Textual
