City of Troy Social Media Policy

To address the fast-changing landscape of the Internet and the way residents communicate and obtain information online, City Departments are participating in Web 2.0 technologies such as social media formats to reach a broader audience. Management encourages the use of these technologies to further the goals of the City and the missions of its departments where appropriate, but also has an obligation to establish guidelines for the use of those sites and to establish a policy to ensure we are in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and documentation retention policies.

• For each Social Media Site maintained by the City of Troy:
• any articles or content posted or submitted for posting will be moderated
• any articles or content posted or submitted for posting are subject to public disclosure
• the site is privately hosted thereby limiting the ability to search for and produce documents related to FOIA requests
• Comments and articles submitted to a City of Troy Social Media site shall be moderated by a trained moderator assigned by the department creating and maintaining the site.
  • The moderator will ensure that posted articles and comments containing any of the following forms of content shall not be allowed for posting:
    • Comments not topically related to the site or particular article being commented upon;
    • Profane language or content;
    • 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;
    • Sexual content or links to sexual content;
    • Solicitations of commerce;
    • Conduct or encouragement of illegal activity;
    • Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems; or
    • Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party
  • Content submitted for posting that is deemed not suitable by a City of Troy moderator shall be retained pursuant to the records retention schedule along with a description of the reason the specific content is deemed not suitable for posting.
  • Where applicable, public commenters shall be clearly identified. Anonymous posting shall not be allowed. Enrollment of public commenters shall be accompanied by valid contact information including a name, address, and email address.