California city bans employees from reading news

Posted Aug 27, 2008 by ■ David Silverberg in World 5 comments

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The headline isn't a joke, although I wish it was. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Vallejo, Calif., is mired in bankruptcy, and its city manager "barred city employees from reading two local blogs that focus on the city's descent into bankruptcy."

The blogs not longer allowed to grace employee desktops include Vallejo Times Herald's local news blog and the Vallejo Is Burning Web site.

The manager's reasoning? "We blocked them because one is an anti-bankruptcy site and the other is a rag of a newspaper."

It looks like Vallejo is facing some dire time. A federal bankruptcy judge will rule next week on whether the city is insolvent and if it can proceed with reorganizing its finances.

But that's no excuse to block news sites? This sounds like censorship and press crackdowns you wouldn't expect to see in the U.S. Am I the only one extremely annoyed with Vallejo's stance?

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Comments (5)

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Posted Aug 27, 2008 by ■ Cynthia Trowbridge
#1

This IS censorship and should never be allowed.

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Posted Aug 27, 2008 by ■ Bob Ewing
#2

You have company, this is wrong.

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Posted Aug 27, 2008 by ■ skeptikool
#3

The ban will work only "on the job" surely? Accessible in the privacy of the home, I should think. Churlish of management, nonetheless.

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Posted Aug 27, 2008 by ■ Sylvie
#4

Companies have the right to bar anything they want. Their computers, their internet connections, their choice. But bans usually make people more curious about what they're not allowed to see, so it's a no-win decision for companies that do it.

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Posted Aug 27, 2008 by ■ Debra Myers
#5

@■ Sylvie
Companies have the right to bar anything they want. Their computers, their internet connections, their choice. But bans usually make people more curious about what they're not allowed to see, so it's a no-win decision for companies that do it.

You are dead right on this, Sylvie.

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