Administrative Policy #9.03 - Social Media
Policy
Authorized social media is intended to support the City’s overarching values of sustainability and citizen participation by improving community engagement, inter-departmental communication, and transparency of and access to information. While using social media, the City must ensure that use of these communications maintains our integrity and reputation while minimizing risks.
Purpose
To establish general standards and responsibilities for acceptable use of social media. This Policy governs the use, administration, management, monitoring, and retention of social media and social media content, consistent with State, Federal, and City laws and regulations and City goals.
Scope
This Policy applies to all uses of social media by City employees. Use includes maintaining or providing oversight of social media tools on behalf of the City and also includes employees' personal use of social media. Employees include, but are not limited to, full-time and part-time employees, casual/temporary staff, and interns. Volunteers who create City content or contribute content on behalf of the City are also covered under this Policy. This Policy also applies to members of the public who comment or otherwise interact with the City through its social media.
Procedures
Responsibilities
Departments that use social media are responsible for complying with all applicable Federal, Oregon, City of Corvallis laws, regulations, and policies, including, but not limited to, those related to copyright, trademark, freedom of information, public records, First Amendment, privacy, discrimination, harassment, respectful workplace, prevention of violence in the workplace, ethics, recruitment, labor relations, confidentiality, or identity theft protection. With the approval of the Public Information Officer and the Human Resources Director, individual departments may develop guidelines which expand on the requirements, restrictions, and procedures defined in this Policy. Staff using social media on behalf of the City must follow departmental guidelines along with this Policy.
As with other communication methods, employees who are authorized to post information on behalf of the City will at all times conduct themselves respectfully and professionally and clearly identify themselves as representatives of the City in their postings. Information posted on social media sites by the City must be consistent with the City's mission, values, and policies. Content created by staff that violates City policies will be removed and will subject the employee to possible disciplinary action up to and including termination. The City reserves the right to take any appropriate legal action necessary to stop or remedy improper or unlawful conduct involving social media. Unless an employee is specifically authorized by a Department Director, Manager, or Supervisor to post information on behalf of the City, employees may not represent themselves as spokespersons for the City. See “Authority” section, below.
Any online actions taken that detract from the mission of the City are a direct violation of this Policy. Examples of prohibited uses may include, but are not limited to, transmitting, retrieving, downloading, or storing messages or images that are offensive, derogatory, defamatory, off-color, sexual in content, discriminatory, harassing, disrespectful, or otherwise inappropriate in a business environment. Such uses are prohibited during work time, in City workplaces, or while away from work if it impacts the workplace. Employees are urged to consult with Human Resources or the City Attorney's Office prior to posting or retrieving any information or comments if they have any questions regarding these standards.
Authority
Only individuals authorized by the City Manager, a Department Director, a Manager, or a Supervisor may post information on behalf of the City or respond on behalf of the City.
Where the employee is not responding as a representative of the City and through the course of their employment, they must clearly state that their comments do not reflect the City's opinions or positions.
Unless otherwise noted, all new accounts created on behalf of the City must be created in consultation with the Public Information Officer. Departments must notify the Public Information Officer and IT Department of the contact name for any employee who is authorized to create and post a new social media site so that the City's archiving service can contact them to begin the archiving process.
Social media has the potential for discriminatory impact even if unintended. In order to avoid disparate or discriminatory impact or creating liability for the City, hiring authorities and interview panels may not conduct their own informal searches of applicants or candidates.
Public Records Requirements
Consistent with the City's Acceptable Use of Information Systems Policy, all City social media sites, followers, profiles, contacts, and content are considered the property of the City; and employees should have no expectation of privacy in regard to such use or content. The City has the right to monitor the use of such sites at any time.
To capitalize on the interactive nature of social media while adhering to record retention and disclosure requirements, any content posted by City staff or members of the public on a social networking site is not considered private. The City will retain all such correspondence in conformance with the Records Management and Retention Program Administrative Policy and state law. Some social media features, such as images, may not be captured through the retention technology for social media; and departments are responsible in such cases for ensuring records retention requirements are met through other means.
The interactive nature of social media invites discussion. However, care must be taken that blogs, forums, or other discussion sites do not cause a violation of the Oregon Public Meeting Law.
Personal Use of Social Media
The City of Corvallis takes no position on any employee's decision to use social medial or to participate in other social networking activities in their personal time. This activity should take place only on designated breaks, lunch, or outside of working hours, as noted in existing policies on City computer use and personal cell phone use. See Employee Handbook, Section II, “Code of Conduct on the Job.” Use of personal social media on work time may be permitted in limited circumstances, with supervisor approval, as part of a conference, convention, networking event, class, or other professional development activity.
Personal social media is subject to the same standards as other types of personal behavior off the job. If you choose to identify yourself as a City of Corvallis employee, some readers may view you as a spokesperson for the City, due to your content, including text and images. Because of this possibility, you must always represent that your views or opinions are not those of the City of Corvallis or of any person or organization affiliated or doing business with the City. Nothing in this Policy will be construed as a request or demand by the City to obtain access to an employee's social media account.
Derogatory or demeaning comments about the City's customers, clients, vendors, fellow City employees or others with whom the City does business will be subject to discipline, up to and including termination, if the posting violates City policy, including the City’s anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies.
The best advice for conducting oneself on social media comes down to this mantra: “Be a good person.” With very few exceptions, social media scandals featuring local government employees have erupted only because someone, somewhere did not exercise proper restraint.
Nothing in this Policy is intended to prohibit employees from exercising their rights of expression or speech provided under State or Federal law.
Community Engagement and Content Management
Engaging with community members, partner agencies and other civic groups is a vital part of the dialogue that the City of Corvallis hopes to foster on its social media pages.
The City welcomes comments and dialogue from social media users. Individual social media services, such as Facebook and Nextdoor, each have their own terms of service, which all users (including the City of Corvallis) explicitly agree to when they sign up to use the site or service. Social media companies may enforce content restrictions pursuant to their terms of service.
In addition, consistent with state law, the City of Corvallis may moderate content on City-run social media pages by hiding or deleting comments that violate this social media policy. Comments posted to City-run social media sites should be pertinent to the topic(s) being discussed and should not include the following content:
- Personal attacks, insults, or threatening language;
- Libelous and/or defamatory statements;
- Copyrighted or trademarked materials without written approval;
- Confidential or draft only information from City sources;
- Private or personal information;
- Inaccurate or factually false information;
- Vulgar, profane, violent, sexist, racist, threatening language or imagery;
- Commercial promotions or spam
Content that violates this social media policy may be removed with or without prior notification. By engaging with City-run social media pages, members of the public acknowledge and agree to these guidelines.
Definitions
Public Meeting: Oregon Public Meeting Law applies to public bodies such as the City Council and any board, commission, or advisory group that makes recommendations to the City Council. Any convening of a public body to deliberate or make a decision or recommendation or the gathering of information on which to deliberate or make a decision or recommendation is a public meeting subject to the requirements for notice and public access. Communication between and among a quorum of members of a public body convened by electronic means, including social media, are subject to the Public Meetings Law, if the communications constitute a decision or deliberation toward a decision or the gathering of information on which to deliberate.
Public Record: Any writing that contains information relating to the conduct of the public's business, prepared, owned, used, or retained by a public body. It does not include any writing that does not relate to the conduct of the public's business and that is contained on a privately owned computer. Unless exempted from disclosure, the public will be provided access to inspect all records.
Social Media: An electronic medium that allows users to create, share, and view user-generated content, including, but not limited to, uploading or downloading videos, still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant messages, electronic mail, or internet website profiles or locations.
Transitory: A record is of a transitory nature if it:
- Lasts for only a short period of time;
- Does not document communications created or received by an agency;
- Does not relate directly to an agency program or agency administration; or
- Is not specified in the Records Management and Retention Program Administrative Policy or listed in Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) ORS 192.170.
Examples of transitory communications include advertising circulars, notes scheduling a meeting, or drafts of a document that have already been finalized.
Review/Update
Human Resources and the Public Information Officer will prepare this Administrative Policy for review as needed for City Manager approval.
Last reviewed: 08-2023
