Social Media Policy

Purpose


  • To address the fast-changing landscape of the Internet and the ways in which residents communicate and obtain information online, the City of Madison Heights (the "City") encourages the use of social media to reach a broader audience in order to further the mission and goals of the City and the objectives of its departments, where appropriate.
  • The City has an overriding interest and expectation in deciding what is "spoken" on behalf of the City on the City's social media sites.
  • This policy establishes guidelines for the establishment and use by the City of social media sites (including but not limited to Facebook and Twitter) as a means of conveying City information to its citizens, increasing transparency, engaging citizens, and/or encouraging citizen participation in the affairs of local government.
  • The intended purpose behind establishing City social media sites is to disseminate information from the City, about the City, to its citizens.
  • For purposes of this policy, "social media" is understood to be content created by individuals, using accessible, expandable, and upgradable publishing technologies, through and on the Internet. Examples of social media include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. For purposes of this policy, "comments" include information, articles, pictures, videos or any other form of communicative content posted on a City of Madison Heights social media site or as online posts to newspaper articles or blogs.

Responsibilities


  • The establishment and use by any City department of City social media sites are subject to approval by the City Manager or his/her designee(s).
  • All City social media sites posted by departments will be subject to approval by the Economic and Community Engagement Supervisor or designee who will monitor content on City social media sites to ensure adherence to both the City's Social Media Policy and the interest and goals of the City of Madison Heights. The sole allowable exception to this section includes law enforcement social media sites established and utilized for the purpose of criminal investigation and obtaining information regarding crime in the City.
  • Employees, contractors, consultants and vendors must report unauthorized uses of City social media or City social media accounts to their Supervisor or other appropriate City personnel, as the case may be.

Policy

  • The City’s website will remain the City's primary and predominant Internet presence.
  • The best, most appropriate City 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 social media sites will also be available on the City's website.
  • Wherever possible, content posted to City social media sites should contain links directing users back to the City's official website for in-depth information, forms, documents or online services necessary to conduct business with the City.
  • City social media sites are subject to the Michigan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Any content maintained in a social media format that is related to City business, including a list of subscribers, posted communication, and communication submitted for posting, may be a public record subject to public disclosure, and therefore, subject to the City’s Record Retention Policy.
  • Wherever possible, City social media sites shall clearly indicate that any articles and any other content posted or submitted for posting may be subject to public disclosure. Users shall be notified that public disclosure requests must be directed to the relevant City Departmental FOIA Coordinator.
  • The City reserves the right to restrict or remove any content that is deemed in violation of this Social Media Policy or any applicable law. Any content removed based on these guidelines must be retained in accordance with the FOIA. Social media content may be archived through the periodic, permissive removal of social media posts after such posts have been “live” for at least thirty (30) calendar days, provided that such posts are first copied and pasted to a digital file that is retained in accordance with a FOIA-compliant record retention schedule.
  • These guidelines must be displayed to users or made available by hyperlink.
  • The City will approach the use of social media tools as consistently as possible, enterprise-wide.
  • Individual departmental social media pages (e.g. Facebook) shall present a consistent “look and feel” as determined and monitored by the Economic and Community Engagement Supervisor or designee.
  • All City social media sites shall adhere to applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and policies.
  • Comments on topics or issues not within the jurisdictional purview of the City of Madison Heights may be removed.
  • Employees, contractors, consultants and vendors representing the City government via City social media sites must, while acting in such capacity, conduct themselves as a representative of the City and in accordance with all City policies.
  • All new social media tools proposed for City use will be approved by the City Manager or his/her designee.
  • For each social media tool approved for use by the City, the following documentation will be developed and adopted:
    • Operational and use guidelines;
    • Standards and processes for managing accounts on social media sites;
    • City and departmental branding standards;
    • Enterprise-wide design standards;
    • Standards for the administration of social media sites.
  • The following social media tools have been approved for use by the City: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
  • This Social Media Policy may be revised at any time.
  • Comment Policy:
    • As a public entity, the City must abide by certain standards to serve all its constituents in a civil and unbiased manner.
    • The intended and primary purpose behind establishing City’s social media sites is to disseminate information from the City, about the City, to its citizens, businesses, and other customers.
    • Comments containing any of the following inappropriate forms of content shall not be permitted on City social media sites and are subject to removal and/or restriction by the Economic and Community Engagement Supervisor or designee:
      • Comments not related to the original topic, including random or unintelligible comments;
      • Profane, obscene, violent, or pornographic content and/or language;
      • Content that promotes, fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, or national origin;
      • Defamatory or personal attacks;
      • Threats to any person or organization;
      • Comments in support of, or in opposition to, any political campaigns, referendums or other ballot measures;
      • Solicitation of commerce including, but not limited to, advertising of any business or product for sale; Conduct in violation of any federal, state or local law;
      • 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, such as a copyright, of any party; or
      • Topics and information which are exempt from disclosure as provided for under the Michigan Open Meetings Act and FOIA

These guidelines must be displayed to users or be made available by hyperlink.

  • A comment posted by a member of the public on any City social media site is the opinion of the commentator or poster only, and publication of a comment does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by, the City of Madison Heights, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the City of Madison Heights.
  • The City reserves the right to deny access to City social media sites for any individual, who violates the City of Madison Heights Social Media Policy, at any time and without prior notice.
  • Departments shall monitor their social media sites for comments requesting responses from the City and for comments in violation of this policy.
  • When a City employee or authorized contractor, consultant, or vendor responds to a comment, in his/her official capacity as a City representative, the individual’s name and title should be made available, and the individual shall not share personal information about himself or herself, or other City employees, contractors, consultants, or vendors.
  • All comments posted to any City Facebook site are bound by Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, located at http://www.facebook.com/terms.php, and the City reserves the right to report any violation of Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities to Facebook with the intent of Facebook taking appropriate and reasonable responsive action. This policy shall also apply to other City social media sites containing similar Statements of Rights and Responsibilities, or Codes of Conduct.