FAC Letter to Nextdoor.com
Unlike some social media platforms that prevent someone on the registry from creating an account, Nextdoor.com prevents anyone in the same household as a sex offender from creating an account. That includes, spouses, children, roommates and anyone else who happens to share the same address as a registrant.
In response to inquiries from members, Nextdoor claims that this policy is a condition of the public entities (law enforcement, municipalities, etc.) that they partner with.
FAC sent the following letter to Nextdoor.com, inviting them to reconsider their policy in light of the recent Packingham decision.
I would like to start a CAL against them as well here in Michigan they let ordinary Morons become admins and they are singling out people and businesses and are very racial Very hard to work with and to ban folks that did nothing wrong all because you stand up for yourself is wrong
I am beginning a class action lawsuit here in California against Nextdoor. Please contact me if you have been victimized by them.
I would very much like to join. I am the wife of a registered sex offender. His offense is considered a misdemeanor in Georgia and he should not have to register according to Georgia laws, only felony charges are required. However he was convicted in CA and as a misdemeanor has to registered for no reason anyone can give him, in Georgia. I joined Nextdoor.com along with my son and my husband when we bought our home. Apparently there was some wire crossed and my husband was still showing our apt address, even though he notified the department we’d moved. So this year, lo and behold, he registers again and next thing you know my Nextdoor.com account sends me an email to me, my son and my husband. No reason as to why we were no longer allowed on the website, but we knew why. It’s ridiculous and I believe according to the Supreme Court decision you referenced, it’s illegal. Nextdoor.com is not a website for kids, anyone under 18.
I would love to join any formal complaint or lawsuit against nextdoor.com. This platform has allowed people with self-serving intentions take over my HOA. This site has the most shortsighted and unfair free speech practices, and to add insult to injury they have no phone number or any real way to report issues. People within my HOA use this site to promote lies and misinformation which has led to more than one serious lawsuit, along with mounting evidence of HOA board maleficence, and has enabled and emboldened active verbal and in some cases physical harassment.
Our current BOD and their rabid supporters, have effectively shut down debate, using nextdoor.com as their own private little Pravda, a platform of disinformation and bullying. I have reported the leads (nextdoor.com group administrators who control access to group membership and posts on the platform), one of which is the current HOA president (and the others leads who are all his avid supporters) on several occasions, for breaking community guidelines, only to have them retaliate by posting my personal information online. It has led to even worse outcomes, as the current BOD uses the normal apathy and confusion that is endemic in any HOA, to create an illusion that they have a consensus, when they don’t even have a majority.
A number of concerned HOA members, including myself have, now twice, went through a lot of trouble to rigorously follow the CA state laws and our own bylaws for getting the required number of signatures to force a recall election of the BOD, only to have the petitions, completely ignored both times. The BOD then had an attorney send out letters to the entire association, stating that the two petitions were denied because there was evidence that some of the signatures we obtained were forged or coerced; however, when we contacted the BOD asking they provide us with the names of those deemed forged/coerced, we were referred to the attorney who wrote the letter. Upon contacting this attorney, he personally told us that it was not his (nor his firms) legal recommendation to deny the recall signatures; rather, it was specifically the BOD who made the determination and instructed him to write the legal letter. So back and forth we went with the BOD and “their” (ours too btw) lawyer, using semantics, and a legal conundrum of plausible deniability to completely ignore our legal petition to force a recall election. The BOD president then went on nextdoor.com explicitly stating “our” attorney provided legal reasons for denying the petitions among other explicit lies and misrepresentations. The leads have also posted confidential emails of mine and those who signed the recall petitions, in addition to other documents, with their own leading accusations that give the impression that these documents were evidence of some kind of crimes or unethical activity. I have had to file complaints to several agencies to report that fact that my personal emails were somehow obtained and then posted publicly, and to my knowledge, they are still posted, with these accusations and misrepresentations. This is arguably illegal activity, and may also be a case for libel, slander and defamation, which I would pursue if I had the resources. I filed complaints to nextdoor.com regarding my personal emails, and information being posted along with the individuals’ names who I know posted them, I made similar complaints against the same individuals for posting private info of other people they have vilified and victimized and to date I have had no one at nextdoor.com address the issue, or remove the items in question. It is beyond the pale!
Things have taken a turn for the surreal and hostile, with the utterly insane actions taken this past week, when during our HOA’s monthly general meeting, the BOD nominated the president (and nextdoor.com lead) to be the CEO of our HOA’s country club. A paying position, a high paying position at that although exactly how much this person will be paid or what other benefits he will receive have been hidden and the BOD refuses to provide the info. This individual has been out of work for almost two years, and has no experience in the running of a golf country club, but the BOD and his avid supporters all applaud this turn of events as the best thing to happen to our club and HOA in 30 years. It is worth noting many of these ditto heads are unemployed themselves; either retired, receiving disability or are not employed for whatever sundry reasons. They all appear to spend most of their days on nextdoor.com in this bubble of lies and misinformation vilifying and censoring anyone who disagrees with them or even asking for clarifying information on their outrageous claims, and championing all the sycophants who think hiring this man is a great idea.
I know my community is not the only one negatively affected by nextdoor.com because at two of the most recent Agoura Hills city council meetings I attended, all the people who signed up to speak and addresses their respective controversial issues affecting other HOAs and neighborhoods invariably made reference to nextdoor.com being their single source of info on those subjects and/or how they came to be involved or impassioned about the issues at hand. Nextdoor.com does not understand and/or care about how they have emboldened the kind of rancor and confusion spreading out in various communities, that have made mine untenable and undesirable. Their influence is having the exact opposite effect of their purported mission to build community and encourage civil debate, instead they are instilling the worst tendencies of tribalism and incivility in nearly any discussion outside the banal realm of garage sales and lost pets. They must be reined in and held to account.
I hear your anguish. They are doing things that are in their adhesion contract but not lawful. They impersonate Government Authority and unlawfully Deny service. You are right, they must be reigned in.
I’m so sorry to hear all the crap you’ve had to go through so far. I feel your pain. You said you couldn’t afford an attorney, have you tried legal aid?
Also, what they are doing is harassment and a police report can be filed against the perpetrators. I’m also thinking that Nextdoor could also be included in the harassment charge for allowing the harassment to occur through their website.
I believe that you can file a restraining order against the BOD and Nextdoor. I’m pretty sure Nextdoor doesn’t want to be listed in a restraining order.
There’s also the bylaws of the BOD. If you can get a hold of the bylaws and find all of the ways they are blatantly ignoring the bylaws, you can force a change in BOD they cannot ignore. Make sure you have your copy of the petition signed by all who signed. And every communication, dates and times of meetings where you were ignored, people in attendance. Write down everything from now on. Write names, dates, times of everything to back you up. I guarantee that they aren’t.
If worse comes to worse, contact the media. For quickest way to get the word out, local or national televised news is your best bet. To cover all your bases, contact as many media outlets that you can.
Good luck!
Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. I did file a criminal complaint just last week, with the Federal Internet Crime task force and I am doing the same with the Los Angeles County DA, that has a cyber crime dept. Both are free. I want to first know how they came into possession with my personal emails and what other info they may have, as that may indeed be a crime. In any event, no matter how they came into possessions, posting these things publicly without my knowledge or permission, is illegal so hopefully having law enforcement, fed and local poking around, will be enough to shake them out of their brazen chicanery and also wake up others in the community not aware of how these jokers are using HOA dues, and the “power” of their position.
I found https://www.cai-glac.org/ online who can hopefully offer or recommend some legal aide. Two of our old BOD members, who have been also victimized, have had a long standing lawsuit against the current BOD for breach of fiduciary duties, but their funds and gumption are running out. As I collect real hard irrefutable evidence hopefully even criminal charges that stick, I will file that restraining order if I need to but I also want to either join the old BOD’s lawsuit or start another.
Honestly if this were not in my own backyard, I would not believe it was even possible in the 21st Century, in the United States, in So Cal for crissakes! It’s like if the Marx Brothers made a Kafkaesque/Orwellian black comedy. I will try to focus on the absurdity of it all with all the mirth I can muster and not let my baser emotions prevail. I will leave you all with this: I truly feel like social media, and the internet in general, which had and hopefully still has the ability to transform the public sphere for the good has demonstrated itself to be the worse thing to happen in man’s evolution since the bubonic plague and that aint hyperbole.
God Bless and Happy New Year!
Oh yeah and I filed a negative review against nextdoor.com with the local Better Business Bureau and within an hour received an email that my original complaint with them directly was being reviewed again. Nothing more yet, but hopefully they will at least take down my person info and discipline those responsible. Also, I like the local media angle. Thanks gain.
Please send me some info on filling a complaint regarding Nextdoor, I’ve been harassed and bullied. And it was never handled appropriately. I would like to make this a safer website, thank you.
I have been invited twice by my HOA…with whom I have good relations…and turned down twice by ‘nextdoor’. Quite frankly, I couldn’t in reality care less. I do not want to give that organization a minute of my time…make that a second.
I’m in Southern California and I’m trying to get info on how to file a complaint. The harassment and bullying needs to end, its not always handled appropriately. Thank you.
It aint much but here is a link to the Better Business Buraeu, the more folks who complain the better.
https://odrcomplaint.bbb.org/odrweb/public/NewComplaintForm.aspx?Qualified=y&BBBID=121&BusinessID=447229
Thank you, will be going to the BBB.
You can fill out that form but it will do you no good. The best medicine is to work hard to get everyone you know to stop using the service. That will kill them. Also advertise in your area to inform them of their practices and encourage as many people as you can to stop using the service. Also notify their sharholders. This will have a big effect. FInd their insurance carriers and make a formal complaint to them. Enought complaints and they will change.
I have tried to unsubscribe from the website because I don’t care for it, mostly advertising, and they don’t recognize my password which is one they gave me. How do I get rid of them?
Hi mark. I have victimized by Nextdoor and am in California. I would like to touch base
Meganelledge12@gmail.com
I definitely have been vicitimized and would be interested in any legal action taken against these people who have no value for the first amendment.
I have proof that I have been victimized by Nextdoor.com what’s the next step?
Our name is Keith and Carolyn we are residents of Texas former residents of Florida and we are currently in a Pre-Suit Litigation issue with NEXTDOOR for Discrimination and First Amendment Right Violations. My wife who is not a Registered Citizen was removed after 3 years of being an Active Member on the site. Their argument response states “We understand there are many people on the offender registries who do not pose a threat to their neighbors. Unfortunately, we have no way to reliably distinguish between those who do and those who do not. In addition, Nextdoor has partnerships with more than 500 police departments, city governments and other public agencies, and they have made clear to us that a no exceptions policy with regard to the households of registered sex offenders is a necessary precondition for these partnerships.” It is important to note here that just because Nextdoor agreed to the no exceptions policy terms of these agencies to get them to be a participant in their business site, it still in no means give them a “get out of jail free card” to violate any rights of any citizen, especially a non- registered citizen in our great nation. These agreements were based on business decisions to “get another customer” (the governmental agencies) and by doing so they have openly agreed to violate First Amendments Rights not only from a Registered Citizen standpoint, but as non-Registered Citizen stand point as well.
We are currently gathering information from others who have been removed from Nextdoor because we believe this has become a nationwide removal problem against families of Registered Citizens. When the family is being judged by guilty of association and has done nothing wrong, it opens grounds for litigation and relief, and all must stand up for the First Amendment Right to deter the Discrimination issue this presents to all our households.
If you are ready to stand up and tell your story and be part of productive cause that protects your rights and family’s rights over issues as this, please contact us.
I am ready to start a class action lawsuit in the Houston, Texas area against Nextdoor. Please reach out to me
Please let me know what I can do to help in this litigation.
What litigation?
The one posted by Keith Gallegos on April 28, 2019 at 1:57 pm, that I replied to here.
Please contact me in regards to your lawsuit. Nextdoor is deplorable.
1leslee2@gmail.com
I have and I want to be a part of your class action
Any word on this suit? My fiancé has a 20 year old conviction in Louisiana and they have blocked our address, so I cannot even join. Ridiculous.
No, but i can all but guarantee you that nextdoor will lose.
Hi Mark! Are you the attorney in CA? Are you doing the ND lawsuit?
I’m interested in talking with you about ND suspending bullies for just a few days and then reinstating them. I have 100% slam dunk libel case against a member on ND who was suspended but after 4 days he was allowed back. The lies he wrote bother me and I’ve talked to one lead who has been frustrated with ND and several members who just keep getting to return and continue to be nasty. What if one person who is attacked with lies is emotionally fragile and takes his/her life? Wouldn’t the bully and ND would be accountable?
Mark N could you please contact me? My name is Cathy Castro
There is terrible discrimination, censoring, bigotry & racism going on in our Communities NextDoor.com! We would like to join you.
Cathy Castro thank you
Mark
It’s a year later but i am interested in your cause. I was a lead who followed all guidelines and enjoyed helping and meeting neighbors but a group of bullies mass reported me and ND removed my lead status based on false information I supposedly did.
It promotes cyber bullying yet declared its purpose is to be neighborly
How do I reach you. I am interested in hearing more about holding NextDoor accountable. I too am a victim, please contact me.
How is the class action going? I’m interested…I’m in Arizona.
We should ban ALL states together! Here in Arizona it is TERRIBLE!
My account was dropped because of some unknown reason with no explanation. All I did was ask for information about the investigation of the female veteran who was unarmed and killed by a black cop during the Jan 6 riot
I’d love to file a suit
I just had the same treatment by them here in Texas when I was denied an account when I specifically received a letter from our neighborhood association to join. I would be glad to sign up for any Class Action suit against Nextdoor.
Why don’t we sue Nextdoor in a class action suit since they are violating the 1st Amendment?
If anyone wants to organize (and fund raise) for a suit, contact legal@floridaactioncommittee.org
I would be interested as t;hey allow ads from sponsors but not from the people who actually live in neighborhood. Big corporation but not the little guys and there is no way to a small company or hobby business to let the neighbors know they are here. Insurance companies, but not insurance agents. Rover but not the local pet sitters, Home Advisor but not the local tree guy.
The sad thing is that some in society still have the “need” to discriminate, and the government has silently declared that sex offenders can be treated (mistreated) as social lepers of our times. Anything to make themselves feel superior to someone else, by making the false claim that it’s to protect children. When Michigan actually studied recidivism and found that among sex offenders it is less than 1%, they did start granting more paroles. However, the legislators refuse to use verifiable facts like that to fix the laws. If it can’t get them votes for the next election, they just don’t mind lying to the public.
The First Amendment doesn’t prevent a private company from disallowing you to use their service. Educate yourself.
When a social media company establishes a neighborhood specific venue, and that portal gets established in the neighborhood where you live, and it excludes anyone for any reason, that is biased exclusion.
Would you think it OK to exclude certain races just because it’s a “private” company? What about excluding singles and only allowing married couples in? Where does the bias end? Every neighborhood has a clique that usually involves neighbors being oppressed and harassed for various reasons. Who is OK to exclude?
FYI…ignorance is not bliss.
They claim that police agencies and other government agencies require them to bar sex offenders from the site. If this is true, then they are complicit in allowing government to repress freedom of speech, which is a violation of the First Amendment.
So, while the site itself is not violating the First Amendment, the government contracts are violating the rights of sex offenders and their families/friends/roommates.
But certain state laws like the ones in California may do that, at least on their face. I doubt that those anti-discrimination laws ever get enforced.
That depends on their response for your removal from the site. If they remove you for a reason that violates a lawful right, they open the door for litigation against their company. If they just remove you with reason, not much you can do. BUT, if they give you a reason in writing and that reason breaches a law, they open themselves up for litigation.
From what I have read thus far about this organization, I wouldn’t want to use their service anyway, and certainly I would not waste my time trying to change their policy.
I live in Houston, Texas and the HOA for my subdivision in Brunswick Place uses Nextdoor.com to harass people. I have had the neighbors kid(s) throw trash and bricks in the yard and near my home. There are adults on my street who stand at a distance and harass me. How is any of this behavior by them neighborly. What all this so-called tracking boils down to is the police and neighbors following you everywhere trying hard to provoke you. I cause no issues and stay to myself because you can’t trust people.
Suing Nextdoor.com is the only option and I’m in agreement that a class action is what’s needed. For years I have wondered who has been vandalizing my vehicles (scratches, BB gun cracks to the windshield, missing items and flat tires).
The partnership of police and neighbors results in harassment. The police use their surveillance technology to help these neighborhoods follow and harass sex offenders. Let get started.
Correct please count me in for the 1st amend law suit
I received an invitation from my HOA to join and ‘Nextdoor’ turned me down. Must be run by a bunch of “do-gooders”. I would gladly compare my background and reputation with any of “Nextdoor’s” employees. They are not about to let that happen.
Theyare not violating the first amendment. The first amendment involves the govt violating your right. A private organization may certainly put limitations or rules in place that curtail or limit speech. It is unfortunate, but thats the way it is.
I was not able to join Nextdoor because a registered citizen lives in our home. Based on what I’ve heard, the busybody that started it may have done so for the sole purpose to gossip about our registered resident. See how they take way the voices of those branded by the Vatican controlled system?
We’ve lived in our home 16 years and nothing has ever happened or ever will. The woman who started Nextdoor has lived here around 3 years. She came in not knowing us or hearing about any trouble concerning our resident registrant. People like this are what makes neighborhoods sour from fear and making trouble where there is none. If we could live further out in a more rural area we would just to escape all the “christian” hypocrites in this neighborhood.
I think the reason they don’t allow any household resident of the same dwelling is so you can’t see the gossip and therefore can’t educate people. The system is very antichrist and exists solely to further disconnection and isolation, to maintain the conquer and divide status quo and to fill corporate owned prisons with slave labor so the 1% can continue to exist without lifting a finger to work for their money. And they do love torture, it’s in their sick psychotic dna.
They’ve created all this chaos. I recently read that the FBI has been putting a lot of the “illegal” pics and vids out there. I’d bet they originated all of it. And they have the satanic nerve to call others “sick.” #smh
“I recently read that the FBI has been putting a lot of the “illegal” pics and vids out there.”
Do you believe everything you read online?
The FBI illegally ran a child pornography site to ensnare individuals.
It was a fact. No matter which media outlet you trust:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/01/21/fbi-ran-website-sharing-thousands-child-porn-images/79108346/
https://reason.com/blog/2016/11/11/fbi-authorized-to-run-24-child-porn-site
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/judge-fbi-acted-outrageously-by-running-dark-web-child-porn-site-but-prosecution-will-proceed/
Isn’t it just hilarious how the FBI and other abc agencies can create and distribute “illegal” content and not be convicted of breaking the same laws to which they subject the rest of us SUBJECTS to?
Americans have no clue that they are subjects of the Roman world powers. It’s masked behind presidencies and monarchies but it’s all the same origin. It is a fact that all roads lead to Rome.
No, I don’t believe everything I read. But when a flesh and blood veteran member of law enforcement says to our face who is really putting this stuff out there, I believe.
Furthermore, we paid a lot of money to a forensic specialist. Every time we asked that the sender of “illegal” materials be tracked so we can find out who they are and take them to court, we were given various dodgy answers. I kept saying if they can track recipients they can track senders. These were ALWAYS awkward moments in the conversation.
They KNOW who is putting this stuff out there. They can stop it but they aren’t. Don’t you want to know why? Same reason American soldiers are guarding poppy fields in Afghanistan to prevent the locals from burning the fields….💰
Also, look in the phone book and count how many attorneys are in it. Attorneys are making the laws that keep their buddies in business.
Side note…. I watched a judge make the argument that if there was no one looking at “illegal” content, it wouldn’t exist. Did people drive cars before they were built? Did books get read before they were written? Psychotic logic at best.
Another argument that is utterly mindblowing is the idea that every time an “illegal” pic or vid is viewed the victim is again victimized. Do the World Trade Towers fall every time someone views pics and vids of 9/11? Does a car accident happen again every time a person looks at pics and vids of the accident? It’s the most profound arrogance and ignorance that comes up this psychotic drivel.
you try to make it seem like its christians that are making trouble on nextdoor. this is a lie, its jerks on nextdoor. people dont even attend church much. And only fain religious convictions. this isnt about GOP or Dem either. a so called “liberal” person who cant deal with the views of others will mess others over, and so will the so called Conservative” who dont like the views of others either. the point is, nextdoor is filled with crybaby types that cant deal with anyone that disagrees with their bully tactics, whomever is the one doing it.
Please do not label / bundle all Christians into a box of hypocrites. Some of us are genuine, although still human so we do make mistakes. Otherwise we would be God. But I agree, some who call themselves Christians act like they are better than you, meanwhile no telling what they are doing behind closed doors.
I found this in their eligibility requirements:
“If you are under 13 years old (or any older age of consent required to use social media services where you live), do not use our services or provide any data to us. Convicted sex offenders, including registered sex offenders, and their households are not eligible for Nextdoor accounts; and we may also deny other account registrations we think would harm a Nextdoor neighborhood.”
So why even allow minors to use a website that is obviously aimed towards homeowners? Also, they automatically assume a registrant or their family/household member wants to do harm to a neighbor! More than likely, it is just the opposite.
A broader point, as more and more so-called social websites deny registered citizens to join, they are only compounding the isolation we are already subject to. Nobody wants us integrated back into society, no matter the lip service rendered.
@JZ – They allow minors on the site because minors buy things and encourage their parents to do the same. Note the “Advertise” link at the bottom of the main web page. Nextdoor.com is a business, looking to make money. They are looking to use fear and curiosity re: neighbors to bring consumers to the table.
The most likely reason is, they do not want us logging in and seeing what they are saying about us, such as getting together and posting flyers about us in the area. They did that to me once and I laughed when it caused one of them that was trying to sell their house, to not be able to sell their house due to no one wanting to live near an offender lol Now that was justice.
OK I have to say this comment section encourages me. I was at the point of giving up. But I’m finding out if enough of us just keep bombarding these people with emails, letters, complaints, etc., it will invoke some sort of response. The admin lady for Jackson Co told me she sent my email to all the councilmen. Anyone know how that went? The meeting was Tuesday there for that ordinance.
Yes – that’s what it’s all about “With Unity Comes Change” or something like that… It’s our motto, so it’s on the site. If we all come together, things happen.
Thank you FAC so much for this, I was forced off Next-door due to this rule for someone in my household, and now I no longer have access to reaching out to my neighbors, like when my cat went missing, or I found a stray dog, and other neighborhood connections that I really enjoyed. It was just closed with no warning, and only when I emailed to ask why, they sent me this same email, “because of their partnership with Police, etc” and I was really disappointed.
Count me in. Freedom of speech is dead on this site.