Bill Text: HI HR165 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Facebook; Social Media; Kailua; Kailua-Kona

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Passed) 2014-04-03 - Resolution adopted in final form. [HR165 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2014-HR165-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	165
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting facebook to correct inaccurate place names and location information perpetuated and widely-distributed on Facebook pages to better protect the state's social and economic interests.

 

 

 

WHEREAS, the diverse people and cultures of the State of Hawaii often place a special emphasis on deriving identity from the communities in which they live; and

 

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has an economy based largely on e-commerce and tourism; and

 

     WHEREAS, the accurate place names and location information of Hawaii's communities on websites and social media greatly affect the social and economic interests of the people, businesses, and the tourism industry of the State of Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, social media is often a virtual place of reference for the location of people, families of residents, businesses, web-based businesses, and tourism destinations; and

 

WHEREAS, Facebook is a social media platform that in 2013 had 1,230,000,000 monthly, and over 15,000,000 business, company, and organization users; and

 

WHEREAS, inaccurate location information on Facebook pages affects the economic well-being of the people, businesses, cities, counties, and states listed by the platform; and

 

WHEREAS, inaccurate location information on Facebook also affects the social and economic well-being of Hawaii's communities and tourism industry by causing bookings at incorrect locations, resulting in cancellation of services, hotel reservations, car reservations, and other vacation costs; and

WHEREAS, the town of Kailua on the island of Oahu and Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii are independent, vibrant communities with rich histories and strong community spirit, both of which include residents and businesses affected by social media; and

 

     WHEREAS, Facebook incorrectly lists the town of Kailua on the island of Oahu as "Kailua Village, Honolulu County, Hawaii", and also lists the town of Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii as both "Kailua, Hawaii County, Hawaii" and "Kailua-Kona, Hawaii County, Hawaii"; and

 

     WHEREAS, Facebook's designation of "Kailua, Hawaii County, Hawaii" referring to Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii points to a map of Kailua on the island of Oahu, resulting in frequent confusion impacting the social and economic interests of both communities; and

 

     WHEREAS, Facebook incorrectly designates "Kailua Village" as the name for the town of Kailua on the island of Oahu, when in fact "Kailua Village" is used to describe the historic portion of the town of Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, notwithstanding that the Kailua Chamber of Commerce on Oahu has attempted to rectify their inaccurate location information by continually requesting Facebook to correct this error, the inaccurate place information has yet to be corrected; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014, that this body respectfully requests Facebook to assist the State of Hawaii by correcting inaccurate place names and location information that are perpetuated and widely-distributed on Facebook pages to better protect the State's social and economic interests; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the name of the town of Kailua on the island of Oahu be changed from "Kailua Village, Honolulu County, Hawaii" to "Kailua, Honolulu County, Hawaii"; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the names for the town of Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii have associated maps corrected to reflect their location in Hawaii County on the island of Hawaii; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Facebook, President of the Kailua Chamber of Commerce, and Chair of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Facebook; Social Media; Kailua; Kailua-Kona