The Incorporated Village of Wayne is a residential community with an April, 2020 population of 2,286 residents (U.S.Census), nestled within the landscape of the Fox River Valley in the counties of Kane and Dupage, Illinois. Dunham Castle, the Dunham Woods Riding Club, and the "village" are the key features which symbolize the tradition and heritage of Wayne. We welcome all to our page, bu
t ask that everyone who visits and comments is familiar with and adheres to our Village Social Media policy below. Village of Wayne Social Media Policy
Purpose:
The Village of Wayne recognizes that social media platforms, such as Facebook, are one of the most common forms of communication and often the preferred method for the public to receive information and discuss events and developments relevant to the Village. As a public entity, the Village must abide by certain standards to serve its constituents in a civil, professional, and unbiased manner. Through the use of the page tool, the Village can convey Village information to the public such as news releases, Village-sponsored or related events, ordinances, and provide media coverage on topics relevant to Village business. Although Social Media utilization allows various forms of interaction, the adoption by the Village is for disseminating information to members of the public. As such, the Village hereby adopts this Social Media Policy, which shall apply to any official Village Social Media Account, including Facebook, and establishes the guidelines for the public’s use of, and the Village’s management of such accounts. It is recognized, however, that the Village Police Department may use a separate social media account and page for their purposes, and the management of that account and site will be governed by the Police Department social media policy. Social Media Guidelines for Public Usage:
A. Definitions
Comments: Includes any and all information posted in the form of text, pictures, videos, or any digital form on the Village social media site. Posts: Information entered on the social media platform by anyone using the social media allowed platform features for entering comments. Site Administrator: Village appointed person responsible for managing content, overseeing use of the site, and enforcing the Village policy. Social Media Site: Presence on the internet using electronic publishing technologies such as, but not limited to, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn. Limited Public Forum. The Village’s Social Media platforms, such as the page, are a limited public forum as that term is defined by federal law. The Village does not make its Social Media platforms available for general public discourse, but rather reserves and limits the topics that may be discussed on the page at the full discretion of the Village. The Village staff, public body, and appointed officers will not be conducting Village business through the page and will not respond to questions or comments posted on the page. Content Restrictions; Removal. Since the Village’s Social Media platform, such as the page, constitute a limited public forum, the Village reserves the right to restrict or remove any content that is deemed in violation of this policy or any applicable law. However, the Village shall not remove any content based solely on the viewpoint expressed therein. Rather, content that is deemed not suitable for posting by the Village’s designated site administrators because it is not topically related to the particular subject being commented upon, or is deemed prohibited content based on the criteria defined below, is subject to removal by the Village. However, to the extent any removed content constitutes a “public record” under state law, it shall be retained pursuant to the Village’s records retention schedule along with a description of the reason the specific content was deleted. Content posted to the Village page that contains any of the following forms of prohibited content shall not be permitted and shall be subject to removal:
i. Comments not topically related to the particular post or content being commented upon. Slanderous, libelous, malicious, offensive, threatening, violent, profane, uncivil, cyber-bullying, or insulting language. Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of a protected class, including race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability, or sexual orientation. iv. Pornographic/Sexual content or links to pornographic/sexual content. v. Solicitations of commerce and any advertisement for products and services. vi. Personally identifiable information, such as address, phone number, social security number or other sensitive information. vii. Promotion or advertisement in favor of, or in opposition to, a political campaign, ballot measure, or political candidate. viii. Content encouraging or inciting violence or illegal activity, and information that may compromise safety or security of the public or public systems. ix. Information that may tend to compromise or interfere with ongoing investigations of law enforcement, police tactics, or the safety and security of the public or public systems. x. Distribution of copyrighted photographs, music, video, graphics, or other content without the express permission of the copyright holder. Anyone who posts comments to the Village page is acknowledging acceptance of all applicable terms of use, makes such comments at the users own risk, will be held to the content restrictions mentioned herein, and is subject to being removed and blocked from the Social Media platform at the discretion of the Village if these restrictions are violated. D. Notice. Users and visitors to the Village’s page shall be notified that the intended purpose of the site is to serve as a mechanism for communication of Village information such as news, services and events. They shall also be notified that the social media account constitutes a limited public forum, and that this Social Media Policy, including the provisions on removal of content, applies. The Village’s page is not a “website” as contemplated by any statute, including the Open Meetings Act and all postings by the Village are discretionary. E. Emergencies. The Village’s social media accounts are for informational purposes only, and are not monitored by Village staff twenty-four hours a day. Therefore, anyone wishing to report a crime or request emergency, police, or fire assistance should so by dialing 9-1-1. F. Disclaimer. Any comment posted by a member of the public on any Village social media site is the opinion of the commentator only, and publication of a comment does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by the Village, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or polices of the Village. Platform actions such as “friending”, “liking”, and/or similar exchanges between Village employees and/or officials does not indicate Village endorsement of the users comment or actions. G. Content Ownership. Content posted to the Village social media site thereafter becomes property of the Village. This includes all original wording and all posted images that come from any device. However, any documents, photos, videos, or any content that has documented copyright should not be posted and will be removed when such an infraction comes to the attention of the Village. H. Authority: The Village will grant permission to post, monitor, and control content on the Village page to the Clerk and Deputy Clerk in accordance with this Village Social Media Policy, applicable federal and state policy, and policies applicable for each social media platform. I. Monitoring and Control: The Village reserves the right to restrict and remove any content that is deemed in violation of this policy or applicable laws, and may be retained by the Village in digital or paper form for a reasonable period of time, including the content, date and time of post, and identity of the person posting that information when available. J. Rights Reserved: The Village reserves the right to report any of the third part social media site’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities so that the third party social media site can take appropriate action and reasonable responsive action. The village also reserves the right to amend this social media policy as needed.
