Administration of Authorized Social Websites | Lee's Summit IT Policies, Procedures and Standards

Policy Reference

Category	Application Design and Development
Approval Date
Scope	All Personnel authorized to manage City Social Networking pages

Purpose

City of Lee's Summit social websites provide City officials and City Departments the ability to publish articles related to governance and operations of the City. These web sites facilitate further discussion related to issues and topics of interest by providing members of the public the opportunity to submit comments regarding the articles. This policy identifies the authorized use of City Social Networking pages and sites, as well as the obligations of the personnel assigned to maintain them.

Policy

All City of Lee's Summit social websites shall be (1) approved by the Chief Technology Officer and the City Communications Coordinator; (2) published using the approved City technology standards; and (3) administered by Information Technology Services.
Social web sites should complement the other communication media used by the City, including the main City web site, electronic newsletters, print media, television, and emergency notification systems.
The creation of unofficial/unauthorized social websites outside this policy is strictly prohibited. A list of current City Social Network WebSites may be found here.
All websites, including social websites, shall adhere to the following related City policies:
1. Website Purpose and Quality Policy
2. Web Content and Administration Procedure
3. Website Linking Policy
City of Lee's Summit web content subject to State of Missouri public records laws. Any articles and any other content posted or submitted for posting are subject to public disclosure.
Relevant City of Lee's Summit records retention schedules apply to posted content. Records required to be maintained pursuant to a relevant records retention schedule shall be maintained for the required retention period in a format that preserves the integrity of the original record and is easily accessible.
The City reserves the right to restrict or remove any content that is deemed in violation of city policy or any applicable law.
All sites shall clearly indicate that they are maintained by the City of Lee's Summit and shall have City of Lee's Summit contact information prominently displayed.
Where permitted by the social media platform, City social sites will use logos, colors, fonts, and graphics consistent with the City of Lee's Summit branding and the main City web site.
When referencing content available on the City web site, posts on social sites shall include links to main City web site. Authors should provide a brief summary of the information with a link to the main City site rather than duplicating content form the main City site on the social web site.
ITS will manage appropriate access to social web sites via corporate network/firewalls as needed to support the city/department use and administration of those sites.
If a social web site has not been updated in six months, the Chief Technology Officer may terminate the site and associated network accounts and user IDs.
All City of Lee's Summit site moderators shall be trained regarding the terms of this City of Lee's Summit Policy, including their responsibilities to review content submitted for posting to ensure compliance with the Policy.
Author and Commenter Identification:
1. The content of each City of Lee's Summit social website shall be the sole responsibility of the department/agency producing and using the site.
2. Social web sites will be administered using network accounts and user ids administered by Information Technology Services. Use of personal accounts and user IDs to administer City social web sites is prohibited.
3. Use of City network accounts and user ids for personal social web sites is prohibited.
Comments and Responses:
1. City of Lee's Summit web site moderators, with appropriate Department Approval, may choose to allow comments that are topically related to the particular article being commented.
2. All City of Lee's Summit authors' and public commenters' comments shall be clearly identified.
3. City of Lee's Summit employees and officials shall be identified by their real names or official roles, not aliases, when posting anything on City social web sites. Anonymous posting shall not be allowed.
4. As much as is possible within the constraints of various social web site systems, enrollment of public commenters shall be accompanied by valid contact information including a name, address, and email address.
5. Comments, articles and related content submitted to a City of Lee's Summit site shall be moderated by an authorized moderator trained and assigned by the department/agency creating and maintaining the site.
6. If supported by the social media platform, all comments and related materials shall be reviewed and approved by an authorized moderator before posting on a City of Lee's Summit site. If the social media platform does not allow comments to be approved before posting, comments will be disallowed or moderators will review the comments each business day and remove any comments in violation of this policy.
7. All comments submitted for posting with attached content shall be scanned using anti-virus technology prior to posting. If the social media platform does not permit scanning, then posting of attachments will be disallowed.
8. The linked content of embedded hyperlinks within any City of Lee's Summit comments submitted for posting shall be evaluated by moderators prior to posting. Any posted hyperlinks shall be accompanied by a disclaimer stating that the City of Lee's Summit guarantees neither the authenticity, accuracy, appropriateness nor security of the link, web site or content linked thereto. If the social media platform does not permit this evaluation and disclaimer, then posting of links will be disallowed.
9. Comments which contain any of the following shall not be allowed and may be edited or deleted as necessary by site moderators or ITS:
  1. Comments not topically related to the particular blog article being commented upon
  2. Profane language or content
  3. 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
  4. Sexual content or links to sexual content
  5. Solicitations of commerce
  6. Conduct or encouragement of illegal activity
  7. Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems
  8. Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party
  9. Confidential Information

Compliance

City Policy