City of Ovilla
Social Media Policy – Terms of Use for City Social Media Sites
Given the many ways in which a city can disperse information to its citizens, the City of Ovilla has determined that social networking via social media is an important and acceptable way to keep the citizenry informed about issues concerning City business or upcoming City activities, as well as information shared from other groups/organizations within the City. Other goals for social networking include:
• Providing additional channels of input for citizens and other potentially-affected interests;
• Increasing the transparency of the City’s decision-making process;
• Facilitating a sense of community; and
• Reaching new audiences with City message and information. For purposes of this Policy, “Social Media” shall be defined as any form of interactive online communication in which users can generate and share content through text, image, audio, and/or video. Social Media can take many different forms including, but not limited to:
• Microblogging (e.g. Yelp)
• Photo and video sites (e.g. Instagram, Youtube, Flickr)
• Professional networking sites (e.g. LinkedIn)
For purposes of this Policy, “City Social Media Site” shall be defined as those pages, sections, or posting locations on Social Media sites that are established and/or maintained by the City as authorized by the City Council. The City Council will establish and provide for the maintenance of any City Social Media Sites and will determine those who may post to those Sites on behalf of the City. The purpose of this Policy is to set forth the Terms of Use for City Social Media Sites by the public. City Social Media Sites are a productive and open forum for discussion. Posted comments must be constructive and suitable for all readers, while respecting a range of opinions and points of view. The City will not endorse or recommend any businesses or business ventures. Therefore, any postings made on City Social Media Sites that tout a for-profit business or business venture will be deleted. The City of Ovilla reserves the right to delete any content and block or report any user that violates this social media policy, the social media site’s Terms and Conditions, or any applicable law. Other Terms of Use are as follows:
• Comments must be civil. Language or content that is profane, malicious, slanderous, libelous, discriminatory, offensive, threatening, or insulting is prohibited.
• Comments must be within the scope of the topic under discussion.
• References to the personality of individuals or personal attacks will not be permitted.
• Conducting or encouraging illegal activity is prohibited.
• Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems will be deleted.
• References to the personal address, personal telephone numbers, personal e-mail address, family members or other personal information of City officials, City employees or any individual will be deleted.
• Commercial advertising, promotional announcements, and/or spam will be deleted.
• Organized political activity is prohibited.
• Participants are responsible for what they post. Contents may not breach any law, confidentiality, copyright or trademark. Disclaimer: Comments posted by a member of the public do not reflect the opinion of the City of Ovilla. An opinion expressed on social media by the City of Ovilla is posted for discussion only and is not a substitute for a formal statement in a public hearing process. All content posted on a city’s official website or social media sites are subject to the Texas Public Information Act and record retention laws. All requests for public information must be addressed to the Officer for Public Information or the chief administrative officer in order to trigger an obligation under the Public Information Act. Making a request for public information via the City’s social media site will not trigger such an obligation. To submit a request for public information, please do so from the City of Ovilla’s official website at http://www.cityofovilla.org.
