Social Media Policy

As we’ve shared here before, the Town of Apple Valley (“Town”) welcomes public discussion on our social media posts. It is the very purpose of this medium to inform and dialogue on local issues and events.

However, as a public entity the Town must abide by certain standards to serve all its constituents in a civil and unbiased manner. The intended purpose behind establishing Town social media sites is to disseminate information from the Town, about the Town, to its citizens. The Town intends for its use of Town Social Media Sites to relate solely to matters of Town business and does not, in any way, intend to, nor actually create general public forums.

While we certainly enjoy encouragement and support of our hard work, we also welcome disagreement and criticism of the Town and its decisions and actions. Government is established to be a representation of the people, of its residents. We understand and embrace this. When necessary, we invite our residents to interject and offer their perspectives and opinions and even their dissent.

However, under no circumstances can we allow

We strive to make this a safe place for our residents to find information and interact in a civic and neighborly way. Simply, this is a limited public forum, not a personal social media page/site, and decorum is expected and appreciated.

When persons abuse this privilege or harass other users, their comments will be removed and may lead to a temporary suspension of the user from engaging on the Town’s social media platforms.

By doing so, we are not prohibiting a person’s right to freedom of speech or their right to redress their government. Residents can always communicate directly to the Town Council or staff [**INSERT DESCRIPTION ABOUT METHODS OF COMMUNICATION THEY CAN USE (in person, letter, email, voicemail?)**]. We are not restricting this fundamental right by imposing reasonable decorum restrictions.

Such restrictions serve to keep this online space an enjoyable experience for all involved.

To ensure this remains a safe space, comments containing any of the following inappropriate forms of content shall not be permitted on Town of Apple Valley social media sites and are subject to removal by the Public Information Officer or his/her designees:

a. Comments not related to the original topic, including random or unintelligible and off-topic or misleading comments, websites, or graphics that are aimed to detract from an overall positive experience or lead to potentially dangerous external internet links;

b. Profane, obscene, or pornographic content and/or language;

c. Defamatory or personal attacks, including harassment, baiting, fighting, name calling, false accusations;

d. Threats to any person or organization;

e. Comments in support of, or in opposition to, any political campaigns or ballot measures, except Town of Apple Valley elections or ballot measures;

f. Solicitation of commerce, including but not limited to advertising of any business or product for sale;

g. Conduct in violation of any federal, state or local law;

h. Encouragement or incitement of illegal activity;

i. Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems;

j. Content that violates a legal ownership interest, such as a copyright, of any party.

k. Redundant or repetitive comments, with the same or similar content posted multiple times under various posts.

l. Unsolicited photos, videos or external links that are unrelated to the original topic.

m. Messages that disclose confidential or proprietary information;

n. Solicitation of funds;

o. Any form of legal and/or administrative notices or processes, which the Town does not accept through its social media sites.

2. The Town is not responsible for comments, remarks, messages, or other material posted to its social media sites and does not, in any way, guarantee, ensure, or warrant the content, accuracy, or use of social media content from anyone else. The Town specifically disclaims all liability for claims or damages that may result from any posting on its social media sites. Opinions expressed on our social media sites are those of the person posting and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, practices, or policies of the Town. In no event shall the Town be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on information on our social media sites. The Town’s comments are not legal advice and user’s comments are not official notice.

3. The Town reserves the right to deny access to Town social media sites for any individual who violates the Town’s Social Media Policy, at any time and without prior notice.

4. All comments posted to any Town of Apple Valley Facebook site are bound by Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, located at http://www.facebook.com/terms.php, and the Town of Apple Valley reserves the right to report any violation of Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities to Facebook with the intent of Facebook taking appropriate and reasonable responsive action.

5. The use of social media by the Town is not intended to create any contract with anyone at any time or in any way nor is any use of social media by the Town intended to create any expectation of action to be taken by the Town. The public is warned that there is no reasonable expectation that the Town nor any emergency services of the Town will respond to any social media posting.

6. Town social media sites are not monitored in real-time. If you have an emergency or know of a crime in progress, call 9-1-1 immediately.

7. This site is intended to foster additional communication between the Town and the public, pursuant to the Town’s adopted Social Media Policy [hyperlink to Policy]. All public records requests should be directed to the office of the Town Clerk.

8. Town Social Media Sites may contain content, including, but not limited to, advertisements or hyperlinks, over which the Town has no control. The Town does not endorse any hyperlink or advertisement placed on Town Social Media Sites by the social media site’s owners, vendors, or partners.

9. Information contained on the Town’s social media sites may be intercepted, recorded, read, copied, and disclosed by and to authorized personnel for any official purpose, including criminal investigations. Unauthorized access or use of the Town’s social media sites, including attempting unauthorized copying, altering, destroying, or damaging site content may violate the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and may subject violators to criminal, civil, and/or administrative action.

10. Do not include personally identifiable information in comments.

11. By posting on the Town’s social media sites, users grant the Town a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use that content. The Town can reproduce, distribute, public, display, and otherwise use any posted content.

12. Images, photographs, written works and graphics posted by the Town, unless otherwise noted, are the property of the Town and are protected under both United States and International Copyright Laws. These images, photographs, written works and graphics may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without the written permission of the Town. Any use without written permission is a violation of the United States and International Copyright laws.

13. By using the Town’s social media sites, users agree to defend, indemnify, and hold the Town and its officers, directors, employees, contractors, representatives, agents, successors and assigns harmless from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, settlements, costs, and liabilities of any nature whatsoever (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) to which they may become subject and which arise out of, are based upon, are as a result of, or are in any way connected with use of the Town’s social media sites, including any third party claims of infringement or any breach of these terms and conditions.

14. By using the Town’s social media sites, users agree that any claim or dispute relating to the posting of any content shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of laws provisions, and users agree to be bound and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in San Bernardino County, California.

15. Media Inquiries: If you are a reporter, please direct your inquiries to the Town’s Communication Specialist at XXX-XXX-XXXX. We do not post nor respond to reporters’ questions on our social media site.

16. This policy may be updated or amended at any time without notice.

When formal complaints or reports are necessary, we invite our residents and followers to use the official tools we offer to report legitimate items of concern here: contact us