City of Indian Wells Social Media Policy

The intended purpose of the City's social media sites is twofold. First, the City distributes official information about its mission, meetings, activities, and current issues to members of the public. Secondly, the City publishes information to market and promote tourism events in the City.  City Official Social Media Sites are intended solely for City business. The City Manager will approve all City Official Social Media Sites and Authorized Employees.

The City does not control a third-party social media platform’s privacy and use policies.  Users of the social media platforms are subject to the terms and conditions they have agreed to when registering for an account on a social media platform. These policies are subject to change with little or no notification.

No Official City Social Media Site shall link to, follow, friend, or otherwise associate with any other social media platform without prior written permission from the City Manager.

This Policy will be displayed on the City’s website. Wherever possible City Official Social Media Sites will link to this Policy.

All content posted by members of the public on any City Official Social Media Sites, including content posted by any employees using the City Official Social Media Site for personal purposes, reflects only of the opinion of the commentators or posters. Publication of content on a City Official Social Media Site does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by the City, nor does that content necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the City, unless posed by an Authorized Employee.

Commenting on a City of Indian Wells Social Media Site

By posting or commenting on the City of Indian Wells’ social media sites, you are agreeing to the terms of use of this Customer Use Policy and the Administrative Policy as provided herein and as follows:

The City of Indian Wells shares information, images, photographs and video with the public through external social media websites. Comments made by the public to these sites are reviewed and, while comments will not be edited by City personnel, a comment may be deleted if it violates this Customer Use Policy.  

• Comments should be related to the posted topic for the City's social media page or post. City of Indian Wells social media accounts are not meant for comments that do not directly relate to the purpose or topic of the social media website or for service requests. For general comments or communications concerning the City or a City department, or for service requests, please contact City Hall.
• Comments may contain links to external sites that are government sites, City-related sites, sites with specific ties to the City or sites that provide public information that help the City fulfill its mission.
• Contacting the City’s Police or Fire Departments in the event of an emergency should not be done through Indian Wells social media sites. In the event of an emergency, please call 911 and ask for assistance. While comments posted on City social media sites are monitored, posting a comment is neither recommended or the best way to contact the City’s Police and Fire Departments.
• You are subject to the Terms of Service (TOS) of the individual social media websites. Information (photos, videos, etc.) you share with or post to official City of Indian Wells pages are also subject to the TOS of the site and may be used by the owners of the site for their own purposes. For more information, consult the individual social media website's TOS.
• The City shall have full permission or rights to any content posted to its social media sites, including photographs and videos.
• Individuals posting photos warrant they have taken the photograph and have obtained any necessary permission from any third party if that third party or third party’s intellectual property appears in the photograph. Photos remain your individual property, but by posting a photo, you agree to allow the City to display and use your photo on the City’s social media sites and grant the City a perpetual, worldwide non-exclusive license to reproduce, distribute, display and create derivative works of your photo in connection with the City of Indian Wells and promotion for the City of Indian Wells. By posting a photo, you release and hold the City harmless from any and all liability arising from or related to the posting of your photo(s).
• Postings or comments to City social media sites shall NOT contain any of the following:

o   Comments not topically related to the particular subject or article being commented upon;

o   Comments in support of, or opposition to, political campaigns, candidates or ballot measures (this does not apply to educational information or materials provided by the City pertaining to City ballot measures or related Comments in response thereto);

o   Profane language or content;

o   Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation/gender identification, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws;

o   Sexual content (including nudity) or links to sexual content;

o   Solicitations of commerce, including, but not limited to, advertising of any business or product for sale, commercial promotions and spam;

o   Conduct in violation of any federal, state or local law, or encouragement of illegal activity;

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

o   Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party;

o   Potentially libelous comments;

o   Personal attacks, insults, or threatening language;

o   Private or personal information published without consent;

o   Reproduced or borrowed content that reasonably appears to violate third party rights;

o   Hyperlinks to material that is not directly related to the discussion.

• Comments posted by a member of the public on any City social media site are the opinion of the commentator or poster only, and publication of a comment does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by, the City of Indian Wells, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the City of Indian Wells.
• The City reserves the right to deny access to City social media sites for any individual, who violates this Policy, at any time and without prior notice.    
• The City reserves the right to restrict or remove any content that it deems, in its sole discretion, to be in violation of this Customer Use Policy, the Administrative Policy, or any other applicable law (including, but not limited to copyright and/or trademark law), to be the intellectual property of any third party, or to pose a threat to the City’s technology system or its security.
• This comment policy is subject to amendment or modification at any time.

Questions or concerns regarding the City of Indian Wells’ social media activity, the City's Social Media Policy and/or this Customer Use Policy should be directed to City Hall.