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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-11• A RESOLUTION of the City Council establishing Social Media policies, procedures and guidelines for the City of Port Angeles. WHEREAS, social media such as Facebook, are becoming a prevalent and widely accepted means of communication; a means preferred by some people; and WHEREAS, the City, in a continuing effort to better communicate with all citizens, intends to authorize use of social media to communicate information about City projects and issues. BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Port Angeles as follows: Section 1. The City Council hereby approves and adopts the policies, procedures and guidelines establishing rules for the use of social media attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by reference. Section 2. This resolution shall become effective immediately upon its passage and approval by law. PASSED by the City Council of the City of Port Angeles at a regular meeting of said Council held on the 1 5 t h day of February, 2011. ATTEST: Ja Osa Hurd, City Clerk APPROXVED AS TO FORM: e-- CF.-7 .�, ... _.___ _. --- William E. Bloor, City Attorney RESOLUTION NO. 0 4 - 1 1 G:ILEGALIa O RI) INANCES &RESOLUTIQNS\RESOLUTIONS.2p 11102.SocialMediaPoiicy.02.22.1 1.wpd A. Policy and Disclaimer Port Angeles Social Media Policies Posted on City Web Page These terms and conditions of this policy apply only to the Social Media pages (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and YouTube) that are managed by the City of Port Angeles. Any individual accessing, browsing and using a City of Port Angeles Social Media page accepts without limitation or qualification, the City's Social Media Policies (hereafter "Policies The City of Port Angeles 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 of Port Angeles Social Media page following the posting of any modification signifies acceptance of such modification. All users of a City of Port Angeles Social Media page are also subject to the page's own Privacy Policy. The City of Port Angeles has no control over a page's privacy policy or their modifications to it. The City of Port Angeles also has no control over content, commercial advertisements, or other postings produced by the Social Media page that appear on the City of Port Angeles Social Media page as part of the page's environment. The City of Port Angeles operates and maintains its Social Media pages as a public service to provide information about City programs, services, projects, issues, events and activities. The City of Port Angeles assumes no liability for any inaccuracies these Social Media pages may contain and does not guarantee that the Social Media pages will be uninterrupted or error -free. The comments and opinions expressed by users of the City's social media pages are theirs alone and do not reflect the opinions of City of Port Angeles or its officers and employees. Communications made through the page's e -mail and messaging system will in no way constitute a legal or official notice or comment to the City or any official or employee of the City for any purpose. Any comments, articles, and any other content posted or submitted for posting are subject to public disclosure. No one can have an expectation of privacy in the use of Internet resources. People using social media should never disclose private or protected information. Sharing confidential or restricted confidential information on this page is prohibited. 4 B. Facebook and MySince Posting Policy Although we encourage posts and comments on the Facebook and MySpace Pages managed by the City of Port Angeles, the Port Angeles Facebook and MySpace Pages are limited public forums and are moderated by City staff. All posted content (comments, photos, links, etc.) must be related to the topic at hand. The following types of posts and comments are prohibited: Inappropriate and prohibited content subject to immediate removal from the page, includes content that: C. Links Policy Is not topically related to the particular article being commented upon. Promotes or advertises commercial services, entities or products. Supports or opposes political candidates or ballot propositions. Is obscene. Calls for or encourages illegal activity. Promotes, fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of creed, color, age, religion, gender, genetics, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation. Provides information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems. Violates a legal ownership. Promotes illegal activity or encouragement of illegal activity; information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems. Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party; or anonymous posts. Contains vulgar, offensive, threatening, harassing, or profane language or content. Personal attacks of any kind. Offensive comments that target or disparage any ethnic, racial, or religious group. Sexual content. Obscene materials. The City of Port Angeles reserves the right to remove posted content that does not comply with these Policies. All posts and comments uploaded to the City of Port Angeles Facebook and MySpace pages will be periodically reviewed. All posts and comments are public records subject to public disclosure under the Public Records Act. 1. Links to other Social Media Pages and External Websites Provided on City of Port Angeles Social Media Pages The City of Port Angeles may select links to other Social Media pages and outside websites that offer helpful resources for users. Once an individual links to another page or site, the City's Policies no longer apply and users become subject to the policies of that page or site. The City of Port Angeles Social Media pages are intended specifically to share information about City programs, events and services. The City of Port Angeles is not responsible for the content that appears on these outside -2- 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 of Port Angeles. The City reserves the right to delete links posted by outside individuals that violate the City's Posts Policy at any time without notice. The City specifically does not provide links to: Pages associated with, sponsored by or serving a candidate for elected office. Pages supporting, endorsing or seeking to defeat any candidate for elective office, or any ballot proposal. Purely commercial pages with no affiliation to City projects, programs or objectives. Individual personal homepages. Individual religious pages. Pages containing material determined to be obscene, indecent, illegal or libelous. 2. Links by Other Entities to City of Port Angeles Social Media Pages It is not necessary to get advance permission to link to City of Port Angeles Social Media pages; however, entities and individuals linking to City of Port Angeles Social Media pages may not capture any of the City's Social Media pages within frames, present City of Port Angeles content as their own or otherwise misrepresent any of the City's Social Media page content. Furthermore, they shall not misinform users about the origin or ownership of City of Port Angeles Social Media page content. Links to City of Port Angeles Social Media pages should not in any way suggest that the City of Port Angeles has any relationship or affiliation with that organization or that the City endorses, sponsors or recommends the information, products or services of that page. D. Copyright Policy All information and materials generated by the City of Port Angeles and provided on City of Port Angeles Social Media pages are the property of the City of Port Angeles. The City retains copyright on all text, graphic images and other content that was produced by the City of Port Angeles and found on the page. You may print copies of information and material for your own non commercial use, provided that you retain the copyright symbol or other such proprietary notice intact on any copyrighted materials you copy. Please include a credit line reading: "credit: City of Port Angeles Facebook (or Twitter or Myspace) Page" or "Courtesy of City of Port Angeles." Commercial use of text, City logos, photos and other graphics is prohibited without the express written permission of the City of Port Angeles. 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 of Port Angeles 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. -3- E. Other Considerations Contact Us AVOID OPMA VIOLATIONS Councilmembers and Appointed Volunteers (Planning Commission, Parks Board) are not permitted to comment on the page. REASON: to avoid any online discussion in violation of the Open Public Meetings Act. If you have any questions or concerns about the City of Port Angeles Social Media Policy or its implementation, or if you find incorrect information or are interested in seeking permissions that fall outside of the guidelines above, please contact the City's Webmaster at webmaster @cityofpa.us. G \LEGAL\Public Records Act \Social Media PoliciesPosted on City Web Page 12 10 10 wpd (2/2/11) 1.0 PURPOSE SOCIAL MEDIA INTERNAL POLICY Social Media (defined here as the use of third party hosted online technologies that facilitate interaction and dialogue) provide alternative ways for the City of Port Angeles to share information with a broad audience. Social Media includes social networking pages like MySpace and FaceBook, micro blogging tools such as Twitter and audio visual networking pages such as YouTube. The City permits the use of Social Media pages and tools when they are appropriate and beneficial to further the goals of the City and the missions of its departments. This policy establishes guidelines for the City of Port Angeles use of Social Media. 2.0 DEPARTMENTS AFFECTED All City depaitinents. 3.0 PROCEDURES A. Creating Department Social Media Pages Prior to creating a Social Media page, a department should consider the need and value of a department- or program- dedicated page versus relying on the City website, or other means, to disperse department or program information. Since Social Media pages lose the interest of their audiences when not updated regularly, department staff should calculate the time and effort it will take to maintain a page so that visitors continue to find value over time. As a rule of thumb, Social Media pages should be updated at least once per week. If there is not enough new information to make a posting at least once a week, use of a Social Media page may not be justified. Departments must obtain approval from the City Manager prior to creating a Social Media page. Once approval is received from the City Manager, the depai tment must use the common Social Media page format and guidelines contained in the Social Media Guidelines, which is attached to this Policy. The Department director must appoint a specific staff member(s) to maintain and monitor the Social Media page (the Department Moderator). Directors are responsible for ensuring their staff follow the procedures set forth in this Social Media Policy. The Department Moderator must manage the Social Media page and ensure appropriate information is posted and to maintain consistency with other City Social Media pages. The City's Executive Communications Coordinator shall maintain a list of all City Social Media pages that are operating. Depai lnients must inform the Executive Communications Coordinator if they intend to stop operating their Social Media page. The Department Moderator is responsible for regularly posting information, monitoring comments, removing any prohibited content, and saving content required under the Public Records Act. A Comment Policy Notice must be displayed on all Social Media pages that allow posts, indicating the discussion is moderated and inappropriate content will be removed. The City's External Social Media Policy must be linked to the Notice. B. Information Posted on Social Media Pages. Citv Posted Information The most appropriate uses of City Social Media pages are: (1) for time sensitive and emergency information; and (2) as a communications /promotional /marketing tool that increases the City's ability to broadcast its message to the widest possible audience. Each Department Moderator must maintain accurate City information on Social Media pages by frequently reviewing and updating it as necessary and appropriate. In order to ensure appropriate retention of public records, most content posted by City departments on City Social Media pages should not be original source content (content that has not been created anywhere else; only exists on the Social Media page), but rather a secondary copy of information that is posted either on the City website or contained in an electronic record or a hard copy. If original content is posted on a Social Media page, that information must be copied from the page, pasted into a Word document and saved in a searchable electronic folder. A link to the City's webpage must be included on all Social Media pages, directing users back to the City of Port Angeles website for in -depth information on the posted content. -2- Information Posted by Outside Individuals Posted content (including comments, photos and links) must be related to the topic(s) posted by the City to be considered appropriate. Inappropriate and prohibited content subject to immediate removal from the page, includes content that: Councilmembers, Commissioners and other officials and appointed volunteers (i.e. members of the Planning Commission, UAC, Economic Development Advisory Committee and ad hoc appointed citizen advisory committees) should not comment or otherwise communicate on the City's Social Media pages; participating in online discussions may constitute a meeting under the Open Public Meetings Act. For all City Social Media pages that allow posts, those pages are limited public forums, moderated by City of Port Angeles staff to ensure content posted by outsides users is appropriate. Is not topically related to the particular article being commented upon. Promotes or advertises commercial services, entities or products. Supports or opposes political candidates or ballot propositions. Is obscene. Discusses or encourages illegal activity. Promotes, fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of creed, color, age, religion, gender, genetics, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation. Provides information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems. Violates a legal ownership. Promotes illegal activity or encouragement of illegal activity; information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems. Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party; or anonymous posts. Contains vulgar, offensive, threatening, harassing, or profane language or content. Personal attacks of any kind. Offensive comments that target or disparage any ethnic, racial, or religious group. Sexual content. Obscene materials. -3- Inappropriate content must be removed immediately and retained as required under the Public Records Act and described by the Department Moderator. C. Retention of Posted Information. Information posted on the City Social Media pages is subject to the Public Records Act and associated retention schedule. Original source content posted on Social Media pages must be retained for three years from the date of posting. The Department Moderator is responsible for ensuring retention of the original source content in organized, searchable electronic file folders. The records should be retained in such a manner that entire folders can be deleted after three years. City Posted Information If original source content is posted by the City on City Social Media pages, that content must be saved in a searchable pdf format and retained in a searchable folder. Comments Posted by Outside Users 4.0 OTHER CONSIDERATIONS All comments posted by outside users on City Social Media pages, including those that are inappropriate and removed by staff, must be retained. The Department Moderator must copy these posts, including the City information to which they are responding if applicable, into a searchable pdf format to be retained. In addition, when inappropriate content is removed, the Department Moderator must include his or her name and the date and time the content was removed. AVOID OPMA VIOLATIONS Councilmembers and Appointed Volunteers (Planning Commission, Parks Board) are not permitted to comment on the page. REASON: to avoid any online discussion in violation of the Open Public Meetings Act. 5.0 QUESTIONS All questions relating to this policy should be directed to the City's Executive Communications Coordinator in the City Manager's Office. G \LEGAL\Public Records Act \Social Media Internal Policy 12 10 10 wpd (12/17/10) Social Media Guidelines (Additional Information for Department Moderators) 1. Required approval and general oversight by administrators. All City of Port Angeles social media pages posted by City departments must be approved by the City Manager. 2. Neutral Screening: A limited public forum is created "for use by the public at large for assembly and speech, for use by certain speakers, or for the discussion of certain subjects." In a limited public forum, the City may be justified in reserving its forum for certain groups or for the discussion of certain topics, but its activities in limiting the forum must be viewpoint neutral and reasonable. The Department Moderator is responsible for screening the page and removing inappropriate and prohibited content. City employees may not edit or remove content from social networking pages based on views expressed therein. This does not mean that every comment must be allowed. Only comments that comply with this comment policy will be approved for posting. 3. Mandatory compliance with recordkeeping, disclosure and open meeting requirements. City of Port Angeles social media pages are subject to State of Washington public records laws. Content related to City business shall be maintained in an accessible format. 4. Mandatory compliance with other standards, laws, and regulations. All City of Port Angeles social media pages shall comply with all appropriate City policies and standards and all applicable laws and regulations. 5. Setting Up a Facebook Page. PRIMARY CONSIDERATION: Will a Social Media effectively communicate the information? Set up as a "Page Account" Users can "like" the Page 1 Comments posted under the topical post Do Not use "profile account" 6. Consistency between City Facebook Pages. Comment Policy Notice Required: Limited Public Forum Moderated Discussion Inappropriate Comments Removed Link to Policy Standard Format 7. Managing a Facebook Page. PAGE TRACKING Appoint staff member to maintain and monitor Responsibilities: Posting information Reviewing comments Removing inappropriate comments Retaining information posted by the City and others WHAT INFORMATION TO POST? Secondary Copies Reminders of events Article on website or newsletter Original Content Not encouraged Some original content is unavoidable: Comments City response to comments Original articles PROHIBITED POSTINGS Promoting commercial services, entities or products. Supporting /opposing political candidates ballot propositions. RCW 42.17.130 Obscene content. Illegal activity or encouragement of illegal activity. Promoting, fostering or perpetuating discrimination. Information that compromises safety or security of public or public systems. Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party. Anonymous posts. 2 8. Retaining a Facebook Page WHAT IS RETAINED? The social media image (i.e., "the look and feel is not retained; The content posted must be retained, if a primary copy. Secondary Copies: Retention not required See 6.1.4 of Local Government Common Records Retention Schedule (July 2010) Original Content: Required retention for two years from date of posting unless content falls under another record series, e.g., citizen complaint 3 years; See 1.1.6 of Local Government Common Records Retention Schedule (July 2010) HOW IS IT RETAINED? Postings and comments "cut and pasted" into a Word document Deleted comments also retained Retained in electronic folders Searchable Screen shots are not searchable WHAT ABOUT METADATA? Not technically feasible to produce metadata from a social media post. In general, an agency should provide electronic records in an electronic format if requested in that format. Technical feasibility is the touchstone for providing electronic records. WAC 44 -14- 05001. Metadata from a social media post is not an identifiable record because it is not reasonably locatable. The act obligates an agency to provide nonexempt "identifiable...records." RCW 42.56.080. An "identifiable record" is essentially one that agency staff can "reasonably locate." WAC 44 -14- 04002(2). Therefore, a general summary of the "identifiable record" standard as it relates to electronically locating public records is that the act requires an agency to provide a nonexempt "reasonably locatable" record. In general, a "reasonably locatable" electronic record is one which can be located with typical search features and organizing methods contained in the agency's current software. WAC 44 -14- 05002(1). G•\LEGAL\Public Records Act \Social Media Guidelines 12 21 10 wpd -3