Attachment 1 - Proposed 2022 Social Media PolicyAttachment 1
COUNCIL POLICY MANUAL
TITLE: Social Media Policy POLICY NUMBER: 2-16
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 2, 2015 PAGES: 1 of 7
ENABLING ACTIONS:
REVISED DATES:
APPROVED:
PURPOSE
The Social Media Policy governs the operation of social media accounts by the Town of Los Gatos
(“Town”), its Departments, and Town Elected/Appointed Officials to ensure that the community
has access to timely, useful, and important information. The intended purposes of these Town
social media accounts are to disseminate information regarding the Town’s mission, meetings,
current issues, programs, projects, services, and events; strengthen relationships; foster
communication; and engage the community.
The Town has an important interest in assuring the accuracy and consistency of information
associated with its social media accounts. The Town also respects the First Amendment to the
United States Constitution and the constitutional right to freedom of speech. This Policy also
establishes guidelines for the public’s use of social media that balances these values.
Social media users who submit content to any official Town social media account acknowledge
they have read, understand, and agree to the Town’s terms and conditions by virtue of such use.
This Policy is not meant to address one particular form of social media; rather social media in
general as advances in technology will occur and new tools will emerge.
DEFINITIONS
Town Social Media Account – An official account or page on social media maintained by the
Town of Los Gatos.
Elected/Appointed Town Officials – Town Mayor, Vice Mayor, Councilmembers, and people
appointed by the Council to serve on a legislative body such as a Town Board, Commission,
Committee.
Small Town Service Community Stewardship Future Focus
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Post – The addition of information of any kind in the form of text, links, graphics, photos,
videos, etc. to social media.
Social Media – Publicly accessible technologies used to publish and/or share information using
the internet. Examples of social media include: Nextdoor, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,
LinkedIn, and YouTube.
SCOPE AND AUTHORITY
This Policy applies to all employees of the Town including temporary personnel, interns,
volunteers, or other individuals performing work and/or engaged in external communications
on the Town’s behalf and to Town Elected/Appointed Officials.
Town employees shall operate Town social media accounts and post items on behalf of the
Town only as authorized and in conjunction with the Town Communication Team consistent
with the administrative procedures outlined in the Town Communication Plan.
GENERAL POLICY
Town employees shall follow these general guidelines when posting items to social media
and/or operating the Town’s social media accounts. Employees should also refer to and comply
with the Town’s Communication Plan.
1. The Town’s official website (www.LosGatosCA.gov) will remain the Town’s primary
means of digital communication. When possible, social media posts should contain a
link directing viewers to the Town website for more information.
2. Posts should specifically address information regarding Town services, Departments,
officials, programs, safety and disaster preparedness, emergency alerts, meetings,
recognition, recruitment, history, community, and/or offerings specifically related to or
originating from the Town.
The Town may post information from Town Departments, Town government agency
partners, organizations that are under contract with the Town for programming (e.g.,
Music in the Park, Los Gatos-Saratoga Recreation, etc.), and/or relevant media outlets
(local, regional, State).
The Town may post information from non-profits providing housing or philanthropic
services in Los Gatos with whom the Town has a contractual partnership. Information
from non-profits providing housing or philanthropic services in Los Gatos that are not in
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a contractual partnership with the Town may be “shared” on the Town’s social media
accounts, but not posted directly to the Town’s social media accounts.
The Town may post information from the official sites or accounts of local, State, and
Federal government or quasi-government agencies.
The Town may post information from utility, energy, water, recycling, waste
management and/or other Los Gatos service providers. Examples include: PG&E, Silicon
Valley Clean Energy, West Valley Collection & Recycling, etc.
The Town reserves the right to deny requests to post external links or information that
do not fall into any of these categories.
3. Social media content may include information, graphics, photos, videos, and links.
4. Official Town accounts should clearly identify that they are operated by the Town and
use an official Town or Department name and logo.
5. Where possible, this Social Media Policy should be linked on all Town social media
accounts.
6. Social media posts will supplement and not replace legally required notices and
standard methods of communication.
7. No confidential information may be posted.
8. Posts should not contain any personal information except for the names of employees
whose job duties include being available for contact by the public.
9. Posts should be professional, respectful, timely, and factual.
10. All necessary permissions should be obtained prior to posting (e.g., permission to use
photos if applicable).
11. All posts must comply with usage rules and regulations required by third party providers
of Town social media accounts. The Town reserves the right to report any violation of
those rules and regulations to the third party social media providers so that those third
party social media providers can take appropriate and reasonable responsive action.
12. Posts must comply with all applicable Town Policies and Procedures pertaining to
communications including the Town Communication Plan, employee electronic
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communications usage requirements, and any restrictions on the forum such as
limitations to specified activities or topics.
CONTENT MODERATION
The Town’s social media accounts are limited public forums moderated by Town staff.
Members of the public are invited to view and, where possible, provide comments or other
engagement on Town social media accounts in accordance with this Policy and any other
restrictions specific to the forum such as limitations to specific activities or topics. Any public
comment posted to a Town social media account is the opinion of the commenter. The
presence of that content in connection with a Town social media account shall in no way imply
Town endorsement of, or agreement with, the content.
The Town may hide and/or delete comments that are not related to the topic of the post or are
not protected speech protected by the First Amendment. The Town shall not hide and/or
delete comments solely because such comments are critical of the Town or its officials. It is
understood that social media is a 24/7 medium and the Town may not see every inappropriate
comment right away. The Town is trusting in the community to allow reasonable time for off-
topic, inappropriate or harmful speech to be reviewed and/or removed.
The following types of content shall not be permitted in connection with Town social media
accounts and will be removed:
1. Content unrelated to the Town or specified post topic.
2. Violent and/or pornographic content.
3. Content promoting discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, sexual
orientation, gender, disability, veteran status, national origin, or any other legally
protected class.
4. Profane language or content.
5. Solicitations of fundraising or commerce, including but not limited to advertising of any
business or product for sale.
6. Violations of any law, threats, and/or promotion of violence or illegal activity.
7. Content compromising public safety or security.
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8. Content supporting or opposing any political candidate or campaign, including ballot
measures.
9. Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party.
10. Apparent spam, content posted by automatic software programs (i.e., “bots”), or
comments containing links to malware and/or malicious content that affects the normal
functioning of a computer system, servers, or browser.
11. Duplicate comments posted repeatedly within a short period of time.
12. Personal attacks or comments containing actual defamation against a person, either as
determined by a court or comments that are patently defamatory by easily discovered
facts.
13. Private or personal information posted without consent.
Public comments that do not conform with these restrictions shall be removed following
approval by the Town Manager or designee in consultation with the Town Attorney. Any public
comment removed based on this Policy shall be retained in a manner consistent with the
Town’s Records Retention Policy.
NO LIABILITY/GUARANTEE
The Town operates its social media accounts as a public service to provide information about
the Town. The Town assumes no liability for any inaccuracies its social media accounts may
contain and does not guarantee its social media accounts will be uninterrupted, permanent, or
error-free.
All users of social media should review and understand all applicable privacy and other policies,
including those established by the third-party social media providers. Town social media
accounts 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 a Town social media account by anyone other than the Town.
Shares, likes, follows, etc. by any Town social media account are not endorsements.
Town social media accounts are not monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week and no one
should utilize Town social media accounts to seek emergency services. Anyone in need of
emergency help should call 9-1-1.
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The Town does not guarantee it will respond to comments or messages on Town social media
accounts. The Town will use its discretion in determining when to reply publicly, reply
privately, or not reply at all.
ELECTED/APPOINTED OFFICIALS
If Elected/Appointed Town officials have their own social media accounts, the Town recognizes
that they may choose, in their individual capacity, to post items relevant to Town business. In
such situations, Elected/Appointed Town officials shall make it clear that they are speaking for
themselves, not for the Town or for their legislative body. Elected/Appointed Officials shall
individually ensure that they comply with all applicable laws, including, but not limited to, the
United States Constitution and the First Amendment, the Ralph M. Brown Act, the California
Public Records Act, and the Town’s Records Retention Policy.
The Town does not create or provide support for individual social media accounts for
Elected/Appointed officials and those who maintain personal social media accounts should be
aware that (similar to Town email or any other written or recorded communication related to
the official conduct of Town business), digital communications, social media posts, and
messages by Elected/Appointed Town officials regarding matters that are related to Town
business are subject to laws and policies regarding freedom of speech, records retention and
production, and public transparency.
Elected/Appointed Officials are prohibited from using the Town logo or seal or any variation of
the Town logo or seal, representing the Town, or representing that they speak on behalf of the
Town within their official or personal social account(s).
To avoid violations of the Brown Act, consistent with the update provided by AB 992, Town
officials are permitted to use social media to engage in conversations or communications on
matters within the subject matter jurisdiction of their legislative body to answer questions,
provide information to the public, and/or to solicit information from the public. However, the
Brown Act prohibits Elected/Appointed Officials from communicating directly with the social
media of any other member of the legislative body on a subject within the legislative body’s
jurisdiction. Elected/Appointed Officials should be careful not to post, respond, like, react,
share, retweet, etc. any content from another member of their legislative body in a manner
that could constitute an improper serial meeting or otherwise violate the Brown Act.
Elected/Appointed Officials may share or like official Town social media account postings. If
there is any concern about whether an action or content falls within the Brown Act or other
legal limitations, the Elected/Appointed Official should check with the Town Manager and Town
Attorney prior to posting.
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When possible, news of Town-wide importance should first be announced by the Town’s official
social media accounts including the Town website. This information can then be shared by
Elected/Appointed Officials, linking back to the original post or Town website, when possible.
Unless the Elected/Appointed Official has been designated to serve as a spokesperson, a Town
Elected/Appointed Official should never represent themselves as a spokesperson for the entire
legislative body or the Town. Elected/Appointed Officials should be mindful of recognizing that
accomplishments of the Town or legislative body are achieved by collective action of the entire
body or organization.
Digital records relating to public business are required to be handled in a manner capable of
maintaining the record for the applicable retention period. Elected/Appointed Officials should
avoid deleting comments or blocking individuals on any social media accounts they maintain
that are related to Town business. Social media content should be treated the same as any
written document retained in accordance with the Town records retention schedules.
When an Elected/Appointed Official engages in public social media discussion on matters
related to Town business, it is strongly recommended that the Elected/Appointed Official
capture relevant comment threads and forward such communications to the participant’s own
Town of Los Gatos email address, the Town Manager, or staff liaison for the legislative body so
that such communications are captured and preserved.
RECORDS
There is no expectation of privacy on any of the Town’s social media accounts. Town social
media records are subject to the California Public Records Act. Any content maintained on a
Town social media account that is related to Town business, including posts, public comments,
replies, and information about subscribers/followers, may be considered a public record and
subject to public disclosure.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Gabrielle Whelan, Town Attorney