- Feature Links
- Internet Website Policy
- Social Media Comment Policy
Social Media Comment Policy
The City of Dublin established its first Internet Website Policy in 2006, with an update in 2012 to incorporate policies relating to the City’s use of Social Media. The Social Media Policy was again updated in 2016. Below are excerpts from the larger Website and Social Media Policy.
As a public entity, the City must abide by certain standards to serve all its constituents in a civil and unbiased manner.
o Violent or pornographic content and/or language;
o Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or national origin;
o Comments that threaten or defame any person or organization;
o Content that is hateful or incites violence;
o Solicitation of commerce, including but not limited to advertising of any business or product for sale;
o Conduct in violation of any federal, state, or local law;
o Encouragement of illegal activity;
o Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems; or
o Content that violates a legal ownership interest, such as a copyright, of any party.
o Comments in support of or in opposition to political campaigns or ballot measures.
The above listed inappropriate forms of content shall not be permitted and are subject to removal and/or restriction on public comment forums, such as “Open City Hall.” These City-supported platforms are intended to encourage active dialogue but are closely monitored for civility and do not create a designated public forum. Such platforms are run by private, non-partisan companies. Participation is strictly voluntary.
All users of a City of Dublin social media site are also subject to the site’s own privacy policy. The City of Dublin has no control over a third party site’s privacy policy page unless otherwise stated. The City of Dublin has no control over content, commercial advertisements, or other postings produced by the Social Media site that appear on the City of Dublin Social Media site as part of the site’s environment.
The City of Dublin operates and maintains it Social Media sites as a public service to provide information about City programs, services, projects, issues, events, and activities. The City of Dublin assumes no liabilities for any inaccuracies these Social Media sites may contain and does not guarantee that the Social Media sites will be uninterrupted, permanent or error-free.
Although posts and comments are encouraged on the City of Dublin Social Media sites that allow posts, these sites are limited public forums and moderated by City Staff. All posted content (comments, links, photos, etc.) must be related to discussion of City programs, services, projects, issues, events and activities.
Any content removed based on these guidelines must be retained by the Public Information Office for a reasonable period of time, including the time, date and identity of the poster, when available.
A comment posted by a member of the public on the Social Media site is the opinion of the commentator or poster only, and publication of a comment does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by, the City of Dublin or the Department, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the City of Dublin or the Department.
The City reserves the right to deny access to the Social Media site for any individual who violates this Policy, at any time and without prior notice.
The Department responsible for the implementation of the Social Media site shall monitor the respective site for comments requesting responses from the City and for comments in violation of this policy.
Department responsible for the implementation of the Social Media site shall monitor the respective site for comments requesting responses from the City and for comments in violation of this policy.
When a City of Dublin employee comments or responds to a comment, in his/her capacity as a City of Dublin employee, said comments or responses shall be made only from an official account established by the City for such purposes. No City of Dublin employee making comments or responses in his or her capacity as a City of Dublin employee shall share personal information about himself or herself, or other City employees.
All posts and comments are public records subject to public disclosure under the Public Records Act and Proposition 59.
As a public entity, the City must abide by certain standards to serve all its constituents in a civil and unbiased manner.
- The intended purpose behind establishing a Social Media presence is to disseminate information to residents of the City of Dublin.
- Comments containing any of the following inappropriate forms of content shall not be permitted and are subject to removal and/or restriction by the City’s Public Information Office:
o Violent or pornographic content and/or language;
o Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or national origin;
o Comments that threaten or defame any person or organization;
o Content that is hateful or incites violence;
o Solicitation of commerce, including but not limited to advertising of any business or product for sale;
o Conduct in violation of any federal, state, or local law;
o Encouragement of illegal activity;
o Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems; or
o Content that violates a legal ownership interest, such as a copyright, of any party.
o Comments in support of or in opposition to political campaigns or ballot measures.
The above listed inappropriate forms of content shall not be permitted and are subject to removal and/or restriction on public comment forums, such as “Open City Hall.” These City-supported platforms are intended to encourage active dialogue but are closely monitored for civility and do not create a designated public forum. Such platforms are run by private, non-partisan companies. Participation is strictly voluntary.
All users of a City of Dublin social media site are also subject to the site’s own privacy policy. The City of Dublin has no control over a third party site’s privacy policy page unless otherwise stated. The City of Dublin has no control over content, commercial advertisements, or other postings produced by the Social Media site that appear on the City of Dublin Social Media site as part of the site’s environment.
The City of Dublin operates and maintains it Social Media sites as a public service to provide information about City programs, services, projects, issues, events, and activities. The City of Dublin assumes no liabilities for any inaccuracies these Social Media sites may contain and does not guarantee that the Social Media sites will be uninterrupted, permanent or error-free.
Although posts and comments are encouraged on the City of Dublin Social Media sites that allow posts, these sites are limited public forums and moderated by City Staff. All posted content (comments, links, photos, etc.) must be related to discussion of City programs, services, projects, issues, events and activities.
Any content removed based on these guidelines must be retained by the Public Information Office for a reasonable period of time, including the time, date and identity of the poster, when available.
A comment posted by a member of the public on the Social Media site is the opinion of the commentator or poster only, and publication of a comment does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by, the City of Dublin or the Department, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the City of Dublin or the Department.
The City reserves the right to deny access to the Social Media site for any individual who violates this Policy, at any time and without prior notice.
The Department responsible for the implementation of the Social Media site shall monitor the respective site for comments requesting responses from the City and for comments in violation of this policy.
Department responsible for the implementation of the Social Media site shall monitor the respective site for comments requesting responses from the City and for comments in violation of this policy.
When a City of Dublin employee comments or responds to a comment, in his/her capacity as a City of Dublin employee, said comments or responses shall be made only from an official account established by the City for such purposes. No City of Dublin employee making comments or responses in his or her capacity as a City of Dublin employee shall share personal information about himself or herself, or other City employees.
All posts and comments are public records subject to public disclosure under the Public Records Act and Proposition 59.