Greenberg: Nextdoor Violated Campaign Finance Laws in SF Recall Election
Community online network Nextdoor, a publicly traded company based in San Francisco, has become central to local discourse including being a place to list second-hand items for sale or to give away, to post government agency safety alerts and to promote social events like neighborhood street fairs.
In the context of the September 16, 2025, recall election targeting San Francisco Board of Supervisors District 4’s Joel Engardio, Nextdoor has instead engaged in actions that crossed a legal line.
Joel Engardio directed employees or campaign allies inside Nextdoor to delete posts critical of Engardio which encouraged a yes vote to oust him from office. Whistleblower screenshots from Engardio’s special Slack account serve as appalling proof. His operatives also reportedly deactivated user accounts of individuals posting opposition content, thereby suppressing dissent, benefiting Engardio’s anti-recall effort.
Under campaign finance laws, these Nextdoor’s actions equate to an “in-kind contribution” to Engardio’s campaign, providing a tangible benefit to him required to be reported periodically to the San Francisco Ethics Commission. If the value of such activity by Nextdoor operatives exceeds $1,000, local law requires registration and financial disclosures. The so-called Press Exemption (2 U.S.C. § 431(9)(B)(i)) shields traditional media entities—newspapers, broadcasters, and similar outlets—engaged in “legitimate press functions” from treating their media coverage as contributions. However, Nextdoor, primarily a platform for user-generated neighborhood discussions, does not qualify for this exemption.
https://californiaglobe.com/fr/greenberg-nextdoor-violated-campaign-finance-laws-in-sf-recall-election/