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HomeMy WebLinkAboutE-04 - Staff Report, Social Media PolicyCONSENT ITEM E-4 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL VIA: TROY L. BUTZLAFF, ICMA-CM, CITY MANAGER FROM: ANN GRAF, DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & LIBRARY SERVICES LOUIE F. LACASELLA, MANAGEMENT ANALYST DATE: APRIL 17, 2017 SUBJECT: SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE USE ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY SUMMARY: The City recognizes that Social Media Websites offer opportunities for the City to communicate with the community and perform public outreach while providing the public with instant access to City news and events. However, as with other interactive use of the Internet, posting information on Social Media Websites is not without risk. When posting on Social Media Websites on behalf of the City, employees are making statements that reflect upon the City. It is the proposed policy of Staff that all posting by authorized City Departments that use Social Media Websites shall be done in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the attached policy (Attachment 1). The recommended action is to receive and file the Social Media Website Use Administrative Policy. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council take the following action: 1)Receive and File the attached Social Media Website Use Administrative Policy. DISCUSSION: The purpose of the Social Media Website Use Administrative Policy is to establish regulations regarding the proper use of Social Media Websites by employees of the City who are authorized to post information or create pages, on Social Media Websites on behalf of the City. Social Media Websites are those certain third-party websites not under the direct control and management of the City such as, but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter. In addition to establishing guidelines for the use of Social Media Websites by employees of the City, the policy also helps to protect the City’s social media brand by empowering the City Manager to request that persons using the City Seal or other legally protected brands, service means or logos cease from such use. The recommended action is to receive and file the Social Media Website Use Administrative Policy. APPROVED CITY COUNCIL 4/17/2017 Received and Filed Administrative Policy Social Media Website Use April 17, 2017 Page 2 FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with the recommended action. Prepared b y: Prepared by: Louie F. Lacasella Ann Graf Management Anal yst Director of Information Technology & Library Services Reviewed and Approved: Troy L. Butzlaff, ICMA-CM City Manager Attachment: 1) Administrative Policy - Social Media Website Use Social Media Website Policy April 2017 City of Azusa Administrative Policy Subject: Social Media Website Use I. Purpose The purpose of this Administrative Policy is to establish regulations regarding the proper use of Social Media Websites by employees of the City who are authorized to post information or create pages (collectively, “post” or “posting”), on Social Media Websites on behalf of the City. Social Media Websites are those certain third-party websites not under the direct control and management of the City such as, but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter. For purposes of this policy, “comments” include information, articles, pictures, videos or any other form of communicative content posted on a City of Azusa social media site. II.Policy The City of Azusa recognizes that Social Media Websites offer opportunities for the City to communicate with the community and perform public outreach while providing the public with instant access to City news and events. However, as with other interactive use of the Internet, posting information on Social Media Websites is not without risk. When posting on Social Media Websites on behalf of the City, employees are making statements that reflect upon the City. It is the policy of the City of Azusa that all posting by authorized City Departments that use Social Media Websites shall be done in accordance with the guidelines set forth in this policy. III.Procedures A. City Website a.The City of Azusa’s official website (www.ci.azusa.ca.us) shall remain the primary Internet presence. All City of Azusa social media sites shall include one or more links that direct users back to the City’s website. B. General Provisions: a.The establishment and use by the City of Social Media Websites is subject to approval by the City Manager or his/her designee. In granting approval, the City Manager or his/her designee shall consider the need to use Social Media, the primary audience, the type of content to be conveyed on behalf of the City and other relevant factors. b.The City’s personnel policies, applicable administrative regulations and the Azusa Municipal Code apply to all employees that engage in social networking activities while conducting City business. Attachment 1 Social Media Website Policy April 2017 c. Only department heads, and employees authorized by department heads, who have read this policy and signed the Acknowledgement Page, are authorized to post on Social Media Websites on behalf of the City. d. The Department Director shall monitor all content on all Department Social Media Websites to ensure compliance with this policy. e. Work done in connection with the Social Media Websites by non-exempt employees shall only be done during working hours unless authorized by the Department Director. f. The Information Technology Department will continue to monitor and manage the City’s Instagram page and other general City Social Media Websites. The Information Technology Department will have administration rights to other department social media websites, in case the department is unavailable in an event that warrants immediate action. Action by the Information Technology Department in this case will be authorized only by the City Manager. g. The following message shall be posted on the City social media sites’ primary pages: “The intended purpose of this page is to serve as a mechanism for communication between the City of Azusa and members of the public. However, this page is not the primary method of communication with the City, and any notices or requests for City services must be made via official communication methods identified on the City’s website, or by traditional methods of notification recognized by the City, and no comments or posts on this page will be construed as providing notice to the City of any claim, deficiency, dangerous condition, request, or otherwise. Any comments or other content posted or submitted to this page for posting, as well as personal identifying information for the page’s users and visitors, and its list of fans, may be public records subject to disclosure pursuant to California Government Code section 6250 et seq. Requests for public records must be directed to the City Clerk’s office.” h. The City of Azusa shall endeavor to protect its social media brands. To the extent necessary and as authorized by law, the City Manager is empowered to request that persons using the City Seal or other legally protected brands, service means or logos cease from such use. In addition, and to the extent permitted by law, the City Manager may request that persons using non-protected City brands or titles refrain or clarify their use. C. General Posting Procedures: Any and all web pages and information posted, or created, on behalf of the City must: a. Directly pertain to the City of Azusa or information related to the community. b. Indicate that the posting is associated with the City and have the City contact information prominently displayed. c. Adhere to all applicable state, federal and local laws, rules, regulations and City policies including, but not limited to adherence to established laws and policies regarding the California Public Records Act, copyright, fair use, anti-harassment, public records, document retention/destruction and technology use. Social Media Website Policy April 2017 d. Maintain content of posting for the required retention period in a format that preserves the integrity of the original record. Note however, if posts are copies of records already retained pursuant to the department retention schedule (i.e. links to publications, memos, and documents), then the post may be considered a secondary copy and retention is not necessary since the primary document/content is being retained according to the document retention schedule. e. Contain information that is freely available to the public and that is not proprietary or made confidential by City polices or any local, state or federal law. f. Not contain any personal information except the names of those employees whose job duties include being available for contact by the public with approval of the employee, any provision of personal information is done voluntarily and with permission of the affected employee. g. Not include language of a nature that is profane, sexually explicit, lewd, obscene, racial, political, discriminatory, illegal, insulting, expresses an opinion, or that would not be acceptable in workplace. If necessary, employees should refer to their Department Director for guidance. h. Contain a disclaimer that the City does not: i. endorse or recommend any commercial products, processes, or services that may be displayed by third parties in conjunction with the Social Media Website; ii. endorse, warrant, or guarantee the products, services, or information described or offered at any third party Internet sites; and iii. guarantee the authenticity, accuracy, appropriateness or security of the link, website, or content linked thereto for any third party Internet site i. Viewers may submit questions or comments via email or direct message. j. For the purpose of cross posting, departments should forward to other departments information as deemed appropriate for other department or general City posting. D. Interactive Posting Procedures: Allowing interactive, responsive posting from the public can be of great benefit to the City in that it can provide a channel for persons to ask questions of City Staff as well as express their opinions. By engaging in an interactive process, however, consideration must be given to the fact that the City is opening a limited public forum to the public which is protected by the First Amendment. The key to maximizing the benefits of interactivity, while recognizing every person's free speech rights, is to provide useful guidance to persons wishing to post responses. Therefore, any webpage that permit responsive posts shall only be allowed if the City Manager has approved the webpage and authorized public comments via the Social Media Website. Any authorized webpage that allows for responsive posts shall be subject to the following conditions: a. The designated employee, as author of the webpage, in association with his or her department head, must create and provide notice of a Social Media Website Policy April 2017 response policy or disclaimer that will appear on the webpage and that is readily accessible and applicable to anyone wishing to post a response. b. The response policy must: i. make clear the purpose, scope and theme of the webpage; ii. invite public comment within the confines of that purpose, scope or theme; iii. include a disclaimer that the City reserves the right to remove postings placed on official City Social Media Websites that the City deems, in its sole discretion, to be not acceptable, constitute crimes (such as threats or violence) and/or violate federal or State law. iv. describe the kind of messages that are not acceptable including any posting that contains: 1. matters that are not topically related to the particular site or blog being commented on; 2. profane language or content; 3. content that promotes fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regards to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation; 4. sexual content or links to sexual content; 5. solicitation of commerce or commerce offers; 6. conduct or encouragement of illegal activity; 7. information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems; 8. content that violates a legal ownership interest of any person or entity; 9. links to websites that are not within confines of the webpage's purpose or theme; 10. content that is illegal; or 11. content that violates any term, condition or policy of the website. c. The linked content of embedded hyperlinks shall be evaluated to determine if the content is acceptable prior to posting. Any posted hyperlinks shall be accompanied by a disclaimer stating that the City of Azusa does not guarantee the authenticity, accuracy, appropriateness or security of the link, website, or content linked thereto. d. The designated employee shall at all times use his or her best judgment in deciding whether or not to respond to a post. City employees are prohibited from engaging in debate on an official City Social Media Website. Employees who encounter inappropriate situations or abuse in virtual environments should immediately leave the Social Media Website and report the situation to the Department Director. e. The authorized employee assigned to manage the site shall be responsible to review the webpage and posts each work day to ensure compliance with the response policy. Employees assigned to manage the Social Media Website shall be trained regarding the terms of this Social Media Website Policy April 2017 regulation and their responsibilities to review content submitted for posting to ensure compliance with this regulation. f. The website must provide a mechanism for the employee to remove posts, or prevent posting of messages, that clearly violate the response policy. All posts that are deemed unsuitable for posting shall be retained pursuant to the applicable records retention schedule along with a description of the reason the specific content is deemed not suitable for posting. g. All entries on Social Media Websites created by the City shall clearly indicate that any content posted or submitted for posting is subject to public disclosure. h. Any Public Records Act request received in a responsive posting shall be handled in accordance with City policies. i. Each employee designated by a department head to post on a social networking website shall review, be familiar with, and comply with the website's use policies and terms and conditions. j. Many social networking websites include advertising material on pages containing personal postings. Accordingly, it is important to be aware that City of Azusa’s information may be posted so as to be readable concurrently with commercial advertising. E. Live Streaming: a. While not preferred, there are certain situations where live streaming of information on Social Media Websites is necessary. Such situations include, but are not limited to: i. Emergency situations, including press conference, real time safety information, crime alerts. ii. Compliance with grants. iii. Other public engagements deemed necessary by the City Manager. Departments shall seek authorization from the City Manager or his/her designee prior to live streaming on Social Media Websites. IV. Responsibility A. It is the responsibility of the Department Director to ensure all authorized users of Social Media Websites on behalf of the City follow the guidelines established. This Administrative Policy shall be complied with in all respects. Revisions to this Administrative Policy may occur and every attempt will be made to provide prior notice of any such change. B. This Administrative Policy may be changed without notice when deemed necessary in order to fully protect the City's interests, the interests of the public, and to more fully protect the safety of the public, including employees governed by this Administrative Policy. C. Each employee shall sign an acknowledgement of receipt of this Administrative Policy (Exhibit A) indicating that he or she has read and understands all of its provisions prior to posting on any Social Media Website. Social Media Website Policy April 2017 EXHIBIT "A" ACKNOWLEDGEMENT PAGE I, the undersigned, have read and understand the City of Azusa’s policy on Social Media acceptable use, and I agree to follow all policies and procedures that are set forth therein. I further agree to abide by the standards set in the document for the duration of my employment with the City. I agree to use the City’s Social Media only for official City business. I understand that the City reserves the right to monitor and review Social Media actively. I am aware that violations of this policy may subject me to disciplinary action, up to and including termination from employment. ______________________________________ ____________________ Employee Signature Date ______________________________________ Print Name