FWC is limiting social media comments, raising First Amendment concerns

At a time when Florida’s wildlife agency is facing renewed scrutiny, it appears the agency is limiting social media comments, raising questions of a First Amendment violation. 

The agency’s responsibilities, outlined in Article IV, Section 9 of the Florida Constitution and further detailed in Chapter 20.331 of the Florida Statutes include law enforcement, wildlife, habitat, and fisheries management, as well as conservation research, all with the goal of protecting Florida’s unique ecosystems. 

Critics say Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has been increasingly prioritizing the interests of development groups over environmental conservation. They often point to the commissioners themselves, who are appointed by the governor and often have ties to development groups.

FWC is also facing fresh backlash for recent decisions, including a controversial bear hunt and the capture of a manta ray for relocation to an Abu Dhabi aquarium.

As people take to social media to vent their concerns about the organization, the official @myfwc Instagram bio asks visitors to “View & adhere” to a 2023 social media policy.

FWC’s social media comment policy allows public comments on posts, but claims they reserve the right to delete, hide, or report comments if they are vulgar, contain personal attacks, or violate other guidelines such as being off topic, repetitive, or hateful.

“So much of this is extremely subjective,” said Barbara Petersen, Executive Director of Florida Center for Government Accountability (FLCGA). “I think it’s unenforceable because it’s unconstitutional.”

While certain comments are not protected by the First Amendment, such as threats, obscenity, incitement to lawless action, Supreme Court cases including Lindke v Freed (2024) establish comments on the social media accounts of government agencies or agency representatives are protected under the First Amendment. 

“To serve as a public official, you have to have a thick skin, because you’re not going to make everybody happy all of the time. But we have a right to criticize. We don’t have a right to threaten, but we have a right to criticize, and that right is embedded in the First Amendment,” Petersen added. 

Restrictions on social media comments come as social media has become the venue for some of the most widespread and spirited criticism of FWC, with major dedicated accounts drawing the ire of officials (watch this full exchange on the Florida Channel).

One popular account critical of FWC, @fwc_commish, found some of its comments are hidden from public view, an experience confirmed by multiple users.

A review of FWC Instagram posts revealed a discrepancy between the total number of comments listed and the number of comments a user can actually see, confirming that some comments are hidden from public view.

The account shared a screenshot of their comment on this FWC post, but the comment is not visible to other users. Of the 33 comments indicated on the post, only eight are actually visible. 

FWC’s online practice of removing comments, including some for being “off topic,” mirrors its in person tactics used to censor criticism as seen during an August public comment session.

In this video during an exchange that begins at the 13-minute mark, Chairman of the Commission Rodney Barreto berates Katrina Shadix, executive director of Bear Warriors United, for allegedly departing from the topic. Then, he cuts her off entirely. 

Barreto, a Miami-based developer, has used his personal accounts for FWC related business. On his personal account, Barreto blocked certain users including @fwc_commish before turning it private.

“Anything that’s intended to communicate, perpetuate or formalize knowledge having to do with public business is a public record,” Petersen said. “If a commissioner uses her private communication device to communicate about commission business, even if it’s on their personal cell phone, even if it’s on their daughter’s cell phone, it’s a public record, subject to disclosure and retention.”

Google reviews of Barreto’s company, Barreto Group, ) include a comment praising it for being “very well connected” to permitting agencies, raising questions of conflict of interest.

FWC Communications Director Shannon Knowles told Florida Politics that her agency “hasn’t blocked any accounts,” but did not respond to questions about deleted comments.

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This article appears in Sept. 11-17 2025.