Village of Sugar Grove External Users Social Media Policy

Statement of Purpose

The Village of Sugar Grove recognizes that social media services, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, have become increasingly common forms of communication among residents, media outlets, government agencies, businesses and others. Using this technology, the Village has additional avenues by which to share news releases, inform the public about initiatives and highlight events and positive media coverage. Additionally, social media provides the ability to share other information that supports the goals and mission of the Village.

Guidelines and Expectations

“Social media account” shall mean any of the Village of Sugar Grove’s accounts or online services that allow for interaction with Village residents and other stakeholders, including, but not limited to, Twitter, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.

A. Limited Public Forum

The Village’s social media accounts are limited public forums. The Village does not make its social media accounts available for general public discourse, but rather reserves and limits the topics that may be discussed on the social media accounts.

B. Content Restrictions

Members of the community are welcome to comment and share feedback on the Village of Sugar Grove’s social media account(s), however, comments containing any of the following inappropriate content will not be permitted and are subject to removal and/or restriction:

1. Profane, obscene, violent, sexual, or pornographic content and/or language.
2. Content that promotes discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, gender, etc.
3. Content that violates a legal ownership interest, such as a copyright or trademark.
4. Threats to any person or organization.
5. Conduct in violation of any federal, state, or local law or the encouragement of illegal activity.
6. Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems
7. Promotion of any business, product, services, or activities unrelated to government business.
8. Spam or links to other sites.
   

C. Content Removal

Content that is deemed not suitable for posting by the administrators of the Village’s social media accounts based on the criteria defined above, shall be retained by staff pursuant to the records retention schedule in the form of a screen capture along with a description of the reason the specific content was rejected. The comment will then be removed, as technology allows, from the Village’s social media account(s).

D. Notice

Users and visitors to the Village’s social media accounts shall be notified that the intended purpose of the account is to serve as a mechanism for communication of Village news, services and events and that it is a limited public forum. By posting or commenting, users agree to the terms of use outlined in this policy, which will be posted to the Village’s website and linked to, as technology allows, from each of the Village’s social media account.

E. Time of Use

The Village of Sugar Grove’s social media accounts are not monitored 24/7, and as such, posts and responses should not be immediately expected.

F. Emergency Notice

As the Village’s social media accounts are not monitored 24/7, users are advised NOT to use the Village’s social media accounts to report a crime or emergency situation. Crime reports and requests for police assistance must be made by dialing 9-1-1.

This policy will be reviewed and updated as necessary.