Terms of Use
The following Terms of Use shall be prominently posted on all City social media sites or made available through a prominently displayed hyperlink. The purpose of social media is to communicate information of public interest about San Carlos. The goal of posting is to provide information of interest to the San Carlos community concerning the functions, activities, programs and goals of the City, and to facilitate the community’s ability to learn about and participate in city government. The City welcomes responses and participation by the community via appropriate comment, email, letter, telephone call or appearance and comment during a City Council meeting.
2. This is an official social media site of the City of San Carlos. For more information about the City of San Carlos, please visit www.cityofsancarlos.org. This site is intended to serve as a mechanism for communication between the City and the community on various topics and to further the City’s mission. The City has created this site as a limited public forum for discussion of the topics presented by the City. Public comment that is appropriate and on topic is encouraged and may be used by policy makers. However, the City does not post responses to comments posted on this site. Should you require more information or wish to discuss a topic with a City representative, please contact the City directly. Also, requests for public records must be made directly to the City Clerk and not through a City site.
3. Comments and photos posted by the public will be monitored. While comments will not be edited, a comment (or a portion thereof) may be removed if it is in violation of any part of this policy. If an poster has comments or photos removed by the City more than once for violation of this policy, the poster may be restricted from making any additional comments on this or any other City social media site. Determining what is appropriate or on topic is at the discretion of the City. See the Comment Policy for more information.
4. Comments must be related to the posted topic. This site is not meant for comments that do not directly relate to the purpose or topic of the site or for service complaints. For general comments, or communication concerning a department, please contact the department by phone, email or in person.
5. When you post to a City social media site, you are subject to the policies, rules and regulations (i.e., Terms of Use) of the host site as well as the City of San Carlos. Information you share with or post to this site may be used by the owners of the host site for their own purposes. For more information, consult the host website’s Terms of Use.
6. Under certain circumstances, content appearing on this site may be subject to California public records laws and subject to disclosure by the City if requested.
7. Every comment or posting made to this site is a public record, and may be disseminated, reproduced, or copied by the City or any other person without any further action by the poster or without notice by the City of such. You agree by posting to this site that you have no reasonable expectation of privacy.
8. Pursuant to the requirements of the service provider, this website may contain content, including, but not limited to, advertisements and hyperlinks over which the City has no control. The City does not endorse any hyperlink or advertisement or content therein placed on this City social media site by the site’s owners, vendors, or partners.
9. Social media postings are made in real time and may inadvertently contain errors or omissions. The City of San Carlos is not responsible for any delays, errors, or omissions arising out of your use of the site or with respect to the material contained on the site, including, without limitation, any material posted on the site.
10. The City of San Carlos is neither responsible nor liable for any viruses or other contamination of your computer system.
11. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold the City of San Carlos, its employees, officials, officers and agents harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal fees, arising out of or related to (i) your access to our use of a City social media site, or (ii) your violation of the Terms of Use or any other applicable City policy.
12. Any action at law or in equity brought against the City of San Carlos, its employees, officials, offers and agents arising out of or related to use of a City social media site shall be tried in a court of competent jurisdiction in the County of San Mateo, State of California.
13. By reviewing the City's Terms of Use and proceeding to use the City’s social media site, you hereby agree to these Terms of Use. Comment Policy
1. City social media articles, comments, topics and submittals containing the following forms of content are not allowed:
a. Comments not typically related to the topics listed and presented by City staff for the social media site;
b. Profane language or content;
c. Content that promotes, fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or other protected characteristics;
d. Sexual content or links to sexual content;
e. Solicitations for commerce;
f. Conduct or provides direct or indirect encouragement or facilitation of illegal activity;
g. Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems;
h. Content that violates a copyright or intellectual property interest of any other party;
i. Content that threatens any person or organization;
j. Content in support of or opposition to political campaigns or ballot measures;
k. Content that contains confidential or proprietary information about the City, its employees or vendors;
l. Content that violates another person’s right to privacy;
m. Personal attacks of any kind; and
n. Content that bullies, intimidates or harasses any user.
2. Statements or posts that constitute libel, slander and or defamation are prohibited; however, the City is not responsible to determine the truth or veracity of any statement made or comment posted by users of a City site or page.
3. Comments submitted to this site are monitored. The City reserves the right to remove or restrict any content that is deemed in violation of this Social Media Policy or an applicable law.
4. The City of San Carlos disclaims any and all responsibility and liability for any materials posted or submitted by users of the City’s social media sites.
5. The City of San Carlos reserves the right to implement or remove any functionality of its social media sites, when deemed appropriate by the Content Managers. This includes, but is not limited to, blocking specific persons from submitting comments, tweets, or replies; removing comments; turning off comments; removing information, articles, pictures, videos, or any other form of communication that is posted on a City social media site when it does not conform to the site’s guidelines and/or terms of use.
