Destination Sturgeon Bay is a non-profit tourism organization, not a public entity. It is a private, non-profit organization that was founded in 1994 as the Sturgeon Bay Community Development Corporation and operates as a membership-based organization to promote the city.
The Sturgeon Bay Visitor & Convention Bureau welcomes comments, questions, and conversations on our social media channels. We love hearing from visitors, residents, and supporters of our community!
To maintain a positive and respectful space, we ask that all users follow these simple guidelines:
We reserve the right to hide or remove comments that:
- Contain profanity, hate speech, are threatening, or include discriminatory language
- Make personal attacks against staff, businesses, or community members
- Are spam, self-promotional, or irrelevant to the post topic
- Spread false or misleading information
- Contain inappropriate images, links, or videos
Users who repeatedly violate these guidelines may be blocked from our page to maintain a welcoming environment for everyone. If you have been blocked, please note that our team has documented multiple saved examples of comments or posts demonstrating one or more violations of this policy. This documentation is retained internally for recordkeeping and accountability purposes.
A private non-profit tourism organization can block you from its social media because the First Amendment only protects you from government censorship, not from private companies. As a private entity, it has the right to enforce its own rules for its pages, including removing or blocking users who violate its terms of service or community guidelines.
- Private vs. Public: The First Amendment prevents the government from restricting speech, but it does not apply to private companies. This means a private non-profit can control who is allowed to interact on its social media pages.
- Government accounts: A government agency’s official social media account is different, as it is considered a public forum. In that case, blocking a follower would likely violate the First Amendment.
- Terms of service: The organization can remove users for violating their specific rules of conduct or terms of service, similar to how social media platforms have their own rules.
- Non-profit status: The fact that an organization is a non-profit does not change its right to control its own private social media accounts. Its non-profit status is related to its tax-exempt status and how it uses its funds, not its ability to moderate its own online community.
We appreciate your cooperation and your passion for Sturgeon Bay – thank you for helping us keep this space friendly and positive for all! 💙
— Destination Sturgeon Bay