PORT ANGELES — Clallam County will be changing how it allows virtual participation after multiple commissioner meetings have been hacked, resulting in a display of racist content and obscene images.
The county has temporarily banned screen sharing for virtual participants and only allowed attendees to comment when they are unmuted by the host.
“In the short term, I view us as kind of in the middle of a crisis,” commissioner Mike French said.
During the past few weeks, individuals have interrupted the commissioners whenever video or screen sharing has been allowed, doing what County Administrator Todd Mielke called “Zoom bombing.”
These actors will then display “any commentary they would like to perpetuate,” Mielke said, typically pornographic videos or racist audio.
If these interruptions were to happen in person, French said security could escort the disruptors out of the meeting. However, putting an end to the video disruptions is more difficult in an online format.
Under the county’s current Zoom meeting technology, screen sharing is either open to all users or open to none. The meeting host cannot approve screen sharing for a single user, such as individuals presenting to the commissioners.
Other jurisdictions have experienced similar interruptions, Mielke said. The city of Sequim has limited its online participation, only allowing individuals to comment virtually if they have registered at least a day in advance.
The city of Port Angeles utilizes Webex, which allows approved attendees to share their screen or turn on audio and video, City Manager Nathan West told the commissioners. Unless they have been approved, however, individuals are only able to observe the meeting.
While the platform works well, it is not the most user-friendly, said West, attended Monday’s county commissioners’ meeting for a separate issue.
In the short term, French said the county should purchase the Zoom webinar platform, which would allow it to individually permit screen and video sharing.
In the long term, French said the county will consider moving all meetings from Zoom to Microsoft Teams.
Although Zoom may be more user friendly than Teams, French said “unfortunately that has a cost, and that cost is we’re making it user-friendly for people to disrupt meetings.”
Currently, the Zoom meeting function costs the county about $20,000 annually.
“If someone presents me with a way we can save the county $20,000 a year on licensing, I don’t know how I can say that’s not a good idea,” French said.
Clallam County works to ensure the public can provide input to the commissioners in a variety of formats, Mielke said.
“Part of the reason we have open meetings is for the public to share their views with decision makers,” he said.
That includes in-person or virtual testimony, emails and paper handouts.
While the state Open Public Meetings Act does not require the commissioners to provide a remote option, Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Dee Boughton said there is probably a desire to continue to broadcast county meetings.
“There is significant value for the entire community to do that,” he added.
________
Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
