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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.e. Social Media Policy EXECUTIVE SUMMARY City Council Regular Meeting: September 21, 2021 AGENDA ITEM: Social Media Policy AGENDA SECTION: Consent PREPARED BY: Logan Martin, City Administrator Emmy Foster, Assistant City Administrator AGENDA NO. 6.e. ATTACHMENTS: Draft Social Media Policy APPROVED BY: LJM RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion to approve the Social Media Policy BACKGROUND The City of Rosemount uses social media to communicate and deliver messages directly to citizens and to encourage citizen involvement, interaction, and feedback. Information which is distributed via social networks must be accurate, consistent, and timely to meet the information needs of the City’s intended audience. Staff recommends the approval of the attached social media policy. The purpose of the proposed policy is to establish procedures for creating a consistent overall social media presence that meets the City’s established goals. The City also wishes to ensure the proper use of its social media sites by its staff and the public, and to establish procedures for the efficient, effective, ethical and lawful use of these resources pursuant to existing City policies. The City determines how its social media resources are designed, implemented and managed as part of its overall communications strategy. Social media resources may be expanded, modified or discontinued based on City and Department goals, priorities and resources. Because use of social media by government is an evolving issue, provisions of this policy may be or become superseded by state and federal law or judicial opinions. Updates to the policy will be made administratively as needed. Further, this policy is simply a component of the City’s broader communication efforts / strategy, the development of which is a long- term Council priority. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Council approve the Social Media Policy. CITY OF ROSEMOUNT SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY INTRODUCTION The City of Rosemount uses social media sites, such as Facebook and Instragram, to provide two-way communication with the public. Social media technologies offer continually evolving opportunities to enhance public outreach, resident interaction and employee productivity. The City will determine, at its discretion, how its social media resources will be designed, implemented and managed as part of its overall communications strategy. Social media resources may be expanded, modified or discontinued based on City and Department goals, priorities and resources. Because use of social media by government is an evolving issue, provisions of this policy may be or become superseded by state and federal law or judicial opinions. PURPOSE The purpose of this policy is to establish procedures for creating a consistent overall social media presence that meets the City’s established goals. The City also wishes to ensure the proper use of its social media sites by its staff and the public, and to establish procedures for the efficient, effective, ethical and lawful use of these resources pursuant to existing City policies. EMERGENCY In the event of an emergency, call 9-1-1 for a Police, Fire or EMS response. The City cannot guarantee a timely emergency response to comments or requests posted on social media sites. AUTHORIZED USERS Only staff authorized by City Department Directors, or their authorized designee, may utilize the City’s social media sites on behalf of the City. Staff members who are not authorized users must submit a written request to the Director or designee for permission to post information on City social media sites. Directors should communicate this authorization to the Communications Coordinator. No one may establish social media accounts or websites on behalf of the City unless authorized in accordance with this policy. AUTHORIZED CONTENT Only content that is appropriate for public release that supports the City’s mission and conforms to all City policies regarding the release of information may be posted. Examples of appropriate content include, but are not necessarily limited to: ● Announcements ● Tips and information related to crime prevention ● Requests that ask the community to engage in projects that are relevant to the City’s mission. ● Real-time safety information that is related to in-progress crimes, geographical warnings or disaster information ● Information sharing ● Press releases ● Recruitment of personnel Content posted by City staff that is intended for personal purposes and content posted without proper authorization will be removed. The City welcomes participation and comments from the public on its social media sites. However, City staff monitors these sites during business hours and reserves the right to remove content that violates this or other City of Rosemount policy. PROHIBITED CONTENT The City may remove content, including but not limited to the following: ● Prejudiced or hurtful comments that encourage discrimination or discriminate on the basis of creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or other protected classes ● Information that violates individual rights, including confidentiality and/or privacy rights and those rights protected under state, federal or local laws ● Information that violates a legal ownership interest of another party ● Information that could compromise an ongoing investigation ● Information that could compromise the safety and security of City operations, staff, crime victims, suspects or the public or public systems ● Posts and comments that include vulgar, offensive, threatening or harassing language, or personal attacks ● Commercial promotions or spam ● Posts and comments that advocate illegal activity ● Political statements that endorse or oppose political candidates and any campaign material ● Obscene or sexual content or links to obscene or sexual content REMOVING POSTS AND COMMENTS Staff members should promptly report any unauthorized or inappropriate content to a supervisor and/or the Communications Coordinator. The supervisor and/or the Communications Coordinator will take necessary steps to remove content, if necessary, consistent with the goals of this policy and in compliance with all data practices and records retention laws and policies. Removed comments will be tracked and archived consistent with City policy and records retention laws. Any members of the public who have questions relating to comments removed or the legality of any portion of this policy should contact the Communications Coordinator in writing. A written response will be provided as soon as reasonably possible. CORRECTING MISTAKES If a staff member makes a factual mistake on a City social media site, the member should correct it as soon as possible. Corrections should be upfront and timely. If modifying an earlier post, the member should make it clear that the post has been corrected and should not try to “hide” corrections. INTERACTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA The City’s social media sites may “like” or “follow” government entities; nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations related to City or Department functions; local media sites and local businesses. Posts or comments related to the City and community at large may be shared to the extent that they correspond with the City’s social media goals. DATA PRACTICES AND RECORD RETENTION All social media communications or messages composed, sent, or received on city equipment in an official capacity are the property of the City and will be subject to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. In order to comply with the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act and the General Records Retention Schedule, all information posted by a representative of City staff shall be available and maintained in an accessible format so that it can be produced in response to a request. In most cases, content on the City’s social media sites are expected to be transitory or incidental in nature and therefore will only be retained “until read”, unless another City policy or law requires that the content be retained for a designated period of time. The City will retain any posted content that constitutes an official record according to law and the City’s records retention schedule. PRIVACY The City does not share information gathered through its social media sites with third parties for promotional purposes. However, any information provided to the City is subject to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act and may be available to the public upon request. The City has the right to reproduce any photographs or videos posted to its sites and the right to quote any comments or suggestions left by users, to the extent that that is allowed by the Data Practices Act or other applicable law. Users of City social media sites should not have an expectation of privacy or confidentiality related to posted content. The City retains the right to monitor staff members’ social media use on City equipment. Members should have no expectation of privacy. Social media is not a secure form of communication. POLICY VIOLATIONS Violations of this policy will subject the employee to disciplinary action up to and including discharge from employment. DISCLAIMER Comments expressed on the City’s social media sites do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of the City of Rosemount, its employees or elected officials. The City of Rosemount does not create or maintain social media accounts for its employees or elected officials. REMOVED COMMENTS TRACKING FORM All comments removed from a City sponsored social media site should be documented with this form. When completed, please deliver to or email the Communications Coordinator. 1. City of Rosemount social media site affected: _ 2. Date of original post: ____________ 3. Screen name of poster: ____________________________________ 4. Entire comment that was removed (attach separate page if more room is needed): 5. Reason for removal of comment: _______________________________________________ 6. Date comment removed: ____________ 7. Comment removed from City of Rosemount social media site by: _____________________ 8. Other pertinent information (if applicable): Date this report was received by the Communications Coordinator: ______________ This form will be retained by the City for a period of 1 year.