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BC NDP and Simons find compromise on social media

Although Nicholas Simons declined to disclose his social media user name or passwords to the BC NDP, the decision won't keep him out of the race to lead the party.

"NDP MLA Nicholas Simons has come to a successful resolution with the the BC NDP over social media privacy issues," said a statement Simons' campaign released Monday afternoon.

The party required candidates to turn over their user names and passwords for sites like Facebook and Twitter as part of their nomination packages before the party executive would approve their candidacies. Simons declined, saying it would compromise not just his own privacy but that of everyone who contacted him through social media.

Simons is providing evidence to the party that "all aspects of his social networking sites are public and a review that satisfies the BC NDP social media policy has taken place," today's statement said.

"Both Mr. Simons and the BC NDP agree on the need to balance legitimate requests to know as much about candidates as possible with the principle of protecting privacy," it said. "Nicholas Simons and the BC NDP note that social media is an unchartered area of privacy regulation and look forward to contributing to the public debate on this important issue."

It quoted Simons saying he looks forward to becoming an official leadership candidate.

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.

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