Social Media Policy

Purpose

This policy is to establish guidelines on the use of social media sites by North Valley Animal Disaster Group (NVADG) as an additional means of conveying NVADG information to its members and visitors and maximizing the promotion of NVADG programs and services.

The intended purpose of establishing social media pages for NVADG is to establish an interactive communication platform and to disseminate information from NVADG and about NVADG to its members and visitors.  This policy is also intended to mitigate associated risks from use of social media technology where possible.

NVADG has an overriding interest and expectation in protecting the integrity of information posted on its social media pages and deciding what is “spoken” on behalf of NVADG.  This policy applies wholly to NVADG and all NVADG employees who use social media sites and/or technology on behalf of NVADG.

All questions relating to this policy should be directed to the Chief Executive Officer.

Definitions

“Social media sites” means content created by individuals, using accessible and interactive publishing technologies through and on the internet.  Social media uses many technologies and platforms, including social networking, blogs, wikis, photo and video sharing, and more.

“Authority social media page” means a page on a social media site which the Authority establishes and maintains, and over which it has control over all postings, except for advertisements or hyperlinks by the social media site’s owners, vendors or partners.

“Post” or “Comment” means information, articles, pictures, videos, hyperlinks or any other form of content or communication posted on any Authority social media page.

General Policy

NVADG’s official website at www.nvadg.org will remain NVADG’s primary source and means of internet communication.  To the extent possible, a link to the NVADG’s official website shall be included on any NVADG social media page.  Wherever possible, NVADG social media pages should link back to the official NVADG website for forms, documents, online services and other information necessary to conduct business with NVADG.  Information posted by NVADG on social media pages will supplement and not replace required notices and standard methods of communication.

Not all forms of social media may be appropriate for use by NVADG and any social media page established on behalf of NVADG must be approved by the Chief Executive Officer.  Consideration shall be given to the overall nature, theme and suitability for use for NVADG purposes.

NVADG social media pages should make clear that they are maintained by NVADG and state that they follow the NVADG’s social media policy.  To the extent possible, this policy must be displayed to users or made available by hyperlink.

All photos posted by NVADG on its social media pages shall be for use in marketing and promotion of NVADG programs and services. Under no circumstances will NVADG use photos of individuals who expressly ask that their photos not be made public.

NVADG social media pages are subject to the California Public Records Act.  Any content maintained in a social media format that is related to NVADG business, including a list of subscribers, posted communication, and communication submitted for posting, may be a public record subject to public disclosure.  All such content must be retained with the Public Records Act and the NVADG’s document retention policy.

Employees representing NVADG and posting content on behalf of NVADG on its social medial pages must conduct themselves at all times as a representative of NVADG and in accordance with all NVADG policies.  Employees found in violation of this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

This policy may be revised at any time upon approval by the Chief Executive Officer.  Every attempt will be made to provide prior notice of any changes.  However, when deemed necessary in order to fully protect NVADG’s interests, the interests of the public, and to more fully protect the safety of the public, including employees governed by this policy, then this policy may be changed without notice.

Site Management and Content

Social media sites approved for official use by NVADG include Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. All approved social media sites must provide a mechanism for the employee to remove posts or prevent the posting of content that violates this policy.

NVADG’s staff shall administer and monitor NVADG’s social media pages and shall maintain all login and password information.

NVADG’s social media pages are to be used for informational purposes and all content must pertain to the NVADG and/or NVADG business, programs, services or events.  NVADG shall have full permission and rights to any content posted by or on behalf of the Authority, including all photographs and videos.

NVADG social media pages shall be managed consistent with the Brown Act, the Political Reform Act, and the California Election Code.  Members of NVADG’s board of directors, executive committee, or advisory committees shall not post or respond to any posts, comments or publications on any NVADG social media page, or use any NVADG social media page to blog or engage in serial meetings, or otherwise discuss, deliberate, or express opinions on any issue within the subject matter jurisdiction of the board of directors or executive committee, or for any political purpose.

NVADG staff will be responsible for posting content on NVADG’s social media pages on behalf of the NVADG, monitoring content, responding to comments where appropriate, and ensuring adherence to this policy.  Staff must review NVADG’s social media pages on a daily basis to ensure compliance with this policy.  In addition, staff must immediately alert the Chief Executive Officer to any potential content posted on NVADG’s social media pages that violates this policy.

Content posted by staff on NVADG’s social media pages shall be done during normal business hours.  After-hours and weekend postings of content shall only be made with approval from the Chief Executive Officer.

Any employee authorized to post content on NVADG’s social media pages shall not express his or her own personal views or concerns.  Rather, posting of content by any authorized employee shall only reflect the views of NVADG.

Any employee authorized to post on NVADG’s social media pages shall review, be familiar with, and comply with this policy and the social media site’s use policies and terms and conditions.

NVADG reserves the right to have any content restricted or removed if deemed to be in violation of this policy or any applicable federal, state or local law.  Any such removed content must be retained consistent with the Public Records Act, where applicable, and/or NVADG’s document retention policy, including the date, time and identify of the poster, when available.

Comment And Response Policy

Many social media sites permit and invite posts and comments by site users.  By permitting use of this feature, the NVADG does not intent to create a general public forum, and all comments and posts must comply with this policy.  The Authority’s Terms of Use, as set forth below, must be displayed on any NVADG social media page or made available by hyperlink.

NVADG intends for its use of any social media to relate solely to matters of NVADG business.  A comment or post by a member of the public on any NVADG social media page is the opinion of the commenter or poster only and does not imply endorsement of, agreement with, or reflect the opinions or policies of NVADG.

The following posts or comments are inappropriate and are subject to removal or restriction by NVADG:

• Profane, obscene, violent, or pornographic content and/or language;
• Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender,  national origin, sexual orientation or any other category protected by local, state or federal law;
• Defamatory, derogatory or personal attacks on any Authority employee or official;
• Threats to any person or organization or encouragement of illegal activity;
• Information that tends to compromise the safety or security of Authority employees, the public, public systems or the Authority’s technology resources;
• Content that violates any legal ownership interest, such as a copyright or trademark;
• Content containing personal information such as home addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, dates of birth or driver’s license numbers;
• Solicitation of commerce, including any advertising or business services or products for sale;
• Content that violates any federal, state or local laws;
• Comments in support of, opposition to, any political campaigns or ballot measures;
• Comments not related to Authority posts, business, information, announcements, events or comments not related to the original topic, including random or unintelligible posts;
• Comments or posts on topics or issues not within the jurisdictional purview of NVADG.

The above list is not necessarily exhaustive and NVADG reserves the right to remove or restrict any post or comment that violates the purpose or spirit of this policy.

Any employee authorized to post on NVADG’s social media pages shall use his or her best judgment in deciding whether or not to respond to a post or comment, and shall avoid engaging any user in an argumentative or offensive manner.  Any response by an authorized employee made on behalf of the Authority shall comply with all terms of this policy.  Content in any post or response made on behalf of NVADG shall not specifically refer to any NVADG vendor, supplier, member, contractor, employee, or official without the approval of the Chief Executive Officer.