NextDoor.com is STILL denying services to Registered Persons; they claim law enforcement demands it

 In 2019, I wrote an article for SOSEN.org regarding the neighborhood-focused social media platform NextDoor.com. Considering vigilantes are known to use NextDoor.com (as illustrated by the sign from a proest in Miami-Dade), there is a valid reason for concern for those unable to check the site for potential activity. 

In 2017, NextDoor justified this act of overt discrimination, stating, “We have the added challenge that the success of Nextdoor in a community depends on our members feeling comfortable sharing personal information (both required information like their real names and addresses, as well as optional profile information–including the names and ages of their kids) with their neighbors. So if members decide they no longer feel safe sharing this information on Nextdoor, even if this belief is misguided, Nextdoor can no longer be successful in that community... Nextdoor works with with thousands of police departments and public agencies, whose willingness to work with us and to recommend Nextdoor to their constituents depends in part on our commitment to keeping our members safe. So we have to be conscious of setting policies that these partners are comfortable with. And when I asked our Agency Team the question you asked us (which partner agencies feel strongly about this policy), they responded that they wouldn’t be able to single out specific ones because they are asked about this policy in every single meeting they have with potential agency partners.” 

If government agents are using NextDoor to pass along sensitive info that is typically a violation of the terms of use policy, then this is all the more reason not to exclude anyone from NextDoor.

So here we are in 2021, nearly two full years after I wrote the SOSEN article, and nothing has really changed. Below is an email sent to a Registered Person recently, who lost their account after being able to access the site for a while:

"I'm sorry to hear about the trouble you had accessing Nextdoor."

"Unfortunately, since public records indicate that you are a registered s** o*** on the ****, our policy blocks you from using Nextdoor:"

"https://nextdoor.com/member_agreement/

"We understand there are many people on the s** o***** 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 registered sex offenders is a necessary precondition for these partnerships."

"I'm sorry that we're therefore unable to grant you access to Nextdoor."

Best, Kiefer

Nextdoor

It is intriguing to me that Nextdoor.com claims Law Enforcement agencies are requiring the company to keep Registered Persons off their platform. I'm not sure I buy that explanation. 

There was a lawsuit in the works against Nextdoor in late 2019 but with the courts running behind schedule due to COVID, who knows then that case will be resolved in court?