Massachusetts legislators blocked from office Twitter use

Lawmakers can access Twitter from smart phones, but not office PCs

Massachusetts state lawmakers and their aides trying to use Twitter in their offices today are getting a bright red “Warning!” sign preventing them from accessing the website, according to a news report in the Boston Herald.

Using the microblogging service has been blocked for all legislative office computers by the Massachusetts Legislative Information Services department because of concerns about alleged vulnerability to viruses, the article states.

Related stories:

Top 10 agencies on Twitter

Overheard on Twitter

However, the legislators still can access Twitter from their smart phones.

Some of the Web-savvy lawmakers are finding the Twitter ban frustrating, while others say Twitter is for the birds anyway, the newspaper reported.

About the Author

Alice Lipowicz is a staff writer covering government 2.0, homeland security and other IT policies for Federal Computer Week.

Featured

  • Cybersecurity

    DHS floats 'collective defense' model for cybersecurity

    Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen wants her department to have a more direct role in defending the private sector and critical infrastructure entities from cyberthreats.

  • Defense
    Defense Secretary James Mattis testifies at an April 12 hearing of the House Armed Services Committee.

    Mattis: Cloud deal not tailored for Amazon

    On Capitol Hill, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis sought to quell "rumors" that the Pentagon's planned single-award cloud acquisition was designed with Amazon Web Services in mind.

  • Census
    shutterstock image

    2020 Census to include citizenship question

    The Department of Commerce is breaking with recent practice and restoring a question about respondent citizenship last used in 1950, despite being urged not to by former Census directors and outside experts.

Stay Connected

FCW Update

Sign up for our newsletter.

I agree to this site's Privacy Policy.