City of Gastonia Social Media Disclaimer Statement
The City of Gastonia administers social media sites and accounts to present matters of public interest in the City of Gastonia to its residents, businesses and visitors. The following information applies to all social media sites administered by the City of Gastonia or its designated employees:
Social media accounts are not monitored 24 hours a da
y, 7 days a week. Users with emergencies should call 911. Each social media account is a moderated online discussion site and is a limited public forum. Public comments expressed on a City social media site do not reflect the opinions and positions of the City, its officials or its employees. All comments and content shared on our government-sponsored social media sites must pertain to items within the jurisdictional control or authority of our governmental unit. The City is responsible for ensuring that its social media conform to applicable laws and City rules and guidelines and reserves the right to immediately remove without advance warning any content that does not meet the purpose of this site. The following are examples of unacceptable content and comment: content that does not relate to the jurisdiction or authority of the City; is obscene; is profane as determined by the law or the social media platform’s established standards; compromises public safety, promotes violence or illegal activity; is defamatory; is offensive insofar as it targets or disparages any ethnic, racial or religious group; contains non-public information; promotes political organizations of any type; encourages the government to unlawfully discriminate against individuals or groups; infringes copyrights or trademarks; includes links to other solicitations or commerce or gratuitous sites; contains malware; or uses personally identifiable medical information. Violations of the content standards may result in the user’s comments being deleted and the user being banned from the City’s official social media sites. Anyone aggrieved, other than a City employee acting in her or her official capacity, with the City’s decision to remove user-generated content from a social media site or aggrieved by the decision to block that user from participating in a social media forum, may submit a written request to the City Manager stating why the content does not fall within the limitations established in this policy or otherwise offer a legal basis establishing the person’s right to publish on an official City of Gastonia social media site. Comments are public records and subject to disclosure in accordance with applicable laws. Some official City of Gastonia social media posts have links to other websites. These external web addresses contain information created, published, maintained, or otherwise posted by institutions or organizations independent of the City of Gastonia. The City of Gastonia does not endorse, approve, certify, or control these external web addresses and does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, efficacy, timeliness, or correct sequencing of information located at such addresses. Use of any information obtained from such addresses is voluntary, and reliance on it should only be undertaken after an independent review of its accuracy, completeness, efficacy and timeliness. The City’s social media policies are subject to amendment or modification at any time without prior notice. If you have questions concerning the operation of the City's social media sites, please contact the Communications and Marketing Department at [email protected]. https://www.cityofgastonia.com/component/content/article/148-communications-and-marketing/1790
