City of Camas Social Media Guidelines

Purpose

To address the fast-changing landscape of the Internet and the way residents communicate and obtain information online, City of Camas departments may use social media tools to reach a broader audience. The City encourages the use of internally established City social media to further the goals of the City and the missions of its departments, where appropriate.

The City of Camas has an overriding interest and expectation in deciding what is "spoken" on behalf of the City on its social media sites. This policy establishes guidelines for the use of City social media channels when communicating with the public.

This policy relates only to the formation and management of the City’s social media accounts. It does not include guidelines for employee use of personal social media accounts during work hours, nor does it include guidelines for employees who wish to make comments about work-related subjects from personal social media accounts. For more information about those issues, please contact the City’s Human Resources Department.

Terms of Use

Any user accessing, browsing and using a City social media site accepts, without limitation or qualification, the City's Social Media Policies (hereafter "Policies"). These terms and conditions apply only to the social media sites (defined here as third-party hosted online technologies that facilitate social interaction and dialogue, such as, and not limited to, Facebook, Instagram and Nextdoor) that are managed by the City. The City maintains the right to modify these Policies without notice. Any modification is effective immediately upon posting the modification on the Social Media Policy page unless otherwise stated. Continued use of a City social media site following the posting of any modification signifies acceptance of such modification.

All users of a City social media site are also subject to the site’s own privacy policy. The City has no control over a site’s privacy policy or their modifications to it. The City also has no control over content, commercial advertisements, or other postings produced by the social media site that appear on a City social media site as part of the site’s environment. The City assumes no liability for any inaccuracies these social media sites may contain or for any consequences that may arise from changes to the site’s privacy policies and does not guarantee that the social media sites will be uninterrupted or error-free.

General

Creation of any new City of Camas social media accounts or proposed use of any new social media tools/programs must first be approved by the City’s Communications Director or designee.

The City Communication Director, or designee, will be given full administrative access to all social media accounts/pages.

The City will approach the use of social media tools as consistently as possible, across all departments

The City of Camas’ websites (cityofcamas.us) will remain the City's primary and predominant Internet presence.

The best, most appropriate City of Camas uses of social media tools fall generally into two categories:

• As channels for disseminating time-sensitive information as quickly as possible (example: emergency information).
• As marketing/promotional channels which increase the City's ability to broadcast its messages to the widest possible audience.

Wherever possible, content posted to City of Camas social media sites will also be available on the City's website.

Wherever possible, content posted to City of Camas social media sites should contain links directing users back to the City's website for in-depth information, forms, documents or online services necessary to conduct business with the City of Camas.
 

As is the case for the City of Camas website, departmental public information staff will be responsible for the content and upkeep of any social media sites their department may create, with support as needed from the communications department.

Wherever possible, all City of Camas social media sites shall comply with appropriate City policies and standards. 

City of Camas social media sites shall also comply with all applicable ethics and elections codes and administrative rules.

City of Camas social media accounts are subject to State of Washington public records laws. Any content maintained in a social media format that is related to City business, including a list of subscribers and posted communication, is a public record. The Clerk’s Office is responsible for responding completely and accurately to any public records request for public records on social media. Content related to City business shall be maintained in compliance with public records laws, and in an accessible format and so that it can be produced in response to a request (see social media channel standards).

Wherever possible, social media accounts/pages shall clearly indicate that any articles or other content posted or submitted for posting are subject to public disclosure. Users should also be notified that public disclosure requests must be directed to the relevant departmental public disclosure officer.

Washington state law and relevant City of Camas records retention schedules apply to social media accounts and content. Unless otherwise addressed in a specific social media standards document, the IT Department shall preserve records required to be maintained pursuant to a relevant records retention schedule for the required retention period in a format that preserves the integrity of the original record and is easily accessible.

Comments and Posts

Posts and comments made to City social media accounts containing any of the following forms of content shall not be allowed and may be hidden or removed at the sole discretion of the City:

• Comments not topically related to the particular social medium article being commented upon or links which contain any external website or social media site, not previously shared by the City;
• Comments in support of or opposition to political campaigns or ballot measures;
• Profane language or content;
• Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation;
• Threats to any person, group or organization;
• Sexual content or links to sexual content;
• Solicitations of commerce;
• Multiple copies of the same comment, or repetition of substantially similar comments;
• Conduct or encouragement of illegal activity;
• Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems, including content that may pose a security risk to City computer information systems; or
• Content that violates or appears to infringe upon a legal ownership interest of any other party.

These guidelines must be displayed to users or made available by request. Any content removed based on these guidelines must be retained for a maximum of three years (the statute of limitations under 42 USC 1983 for violation of First Amendment rights), including the time, date and identity of the poster when available.

The City of Camas reserves the right to hide or remove any content with or without notice to the author. The City also reserves the right to ban or block any user that repeatedly (more than once) violates the guidelines listed above.

Links Policy

Links to other social media sites and external websites provided on City social media sites—The City may include links to other social media sites or websites that offer helpful topic-relevant resources for users. Acceptable sites include websites or social media sites of other public agencies; nonprofit services that extend the goals and mission of the City and benefit the Camas community; and partner organizations, where a contractual relationship exists to provide services on the City’s behalf. Promotion of private businesses for purely commercial purposes is prohibited on City social media sites. Once a user links to another page or site, the City's policies no longer apply and the visitor becomes subject to the policies of that page or site. The City’s social media sites are intended specifically to share information about City programs, events and services. The City is not responsible for the content that appears on these outside links and provides these links as a convenience only. Users should be aware that these external pages and sites and the information found on those pages and sites are not controlled by, provided by or endorsed by the City. Links posted by outside individuals are prohibited. 

Links by other entities to City social media sites—It is not necessary to get advance permission to link to City social media sites; however, entities and individuals linking to City social media sites may not capture any of the City's social media sites within frames, present City content as their own, represent in any manor that they are speaking for the City, or otherwise misrepresent any of the City’s social media site content. Furthermore, they shall not misinform users about the origin or ownership of City social media site content. Links to City social media sites should not in any way suggest that the City has any relationship or affiliation with that organization or that the City endorses sponsors or recommends the information, products or services of that site.

Copyright Policy 

All information and materials generated by the City and provided on City social media sites are the property of the City. The City retains copyright on all text, graphic images and other content that was produced by the City and found on the page. 

Copies of information and materials may be printed for personal or non-commercial use, provided that the copyright symbol or other such proprietary notice remains intact on any reproduction of copyrighted materials. Please include a credit line reading: "Credit: City of Camas Facebook (or Twitter or YouTube) Page" or "Courtesy of City of Camas." Commercial use of text, City logos, photos and other graphics is prohibited without the express written permission of the City.

Use of the City logo is prohibited for any non-governmental purpose. Any person reproducing or redistributing a third-party copyright must adhere to the terms and conditions of the third-party copyright holder. If you are a copyright holder and you feel that the City did not use an appropriate credit line please notify the webmaster with detailed information about the circumstances, so that the copyright information can be added or the material in question can be removed.