ALL
COUNTY
PERSONNEL
TO
:
FROM
:
VERDENIA
C
.
BAKER
COUNTY
ADMINISTRATOR
PREPARED
BY
:
PUBLIC
AFFAIRS
DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT
:
SOCIAL
MEDIA
POLICY
PPM
#
:
CW
-
R
-
013
ISSUE
DATE
EFFECTIVE
DATE
January
20
,
2021
January
20
,
2021
PURPOSE
:
To
define
the
social
media
policy
for
Palm
Beach
County
,
and
address
the
fast
-
changing
landscape
of
the
Internet
and
the
way
residents
and
tourists
communicate
and
obtain
information
online
.
County
departments
may
consider
using
social
media
tools
to
reach
a
broader
audience
and
offer
the
public
timely
customer
service
.
This
policy
establishes
guidelines
for
the
use
of
social
media
.
UPDATES
:
Future
updates
to
this
PPM
are
the
responsibility
of
the
Director
of
the
Department
of
Public
Affairs
.
AUTHORITY
:
Florida
Statutes
,
Chapter
119
as
may
be
amended
.
Florida
Statutes
,
Chapter
286
as
may
be
amended
.
Internet
Use
Policy
(
PPM
#
CW
-
R
-
008
)
BACKGROUND
:
Social
media
serves
as
a
vast
source
of
information
and
has
quickly
evolved
into
a
powerful
communications
tool
.
Social
media
is
important
to
County
departments
as
well
as
members
of
the
public
who
wish
to
obtain
information
about
local
government
issues
,
projects
and
services
.
Governmental
organizations
are
increasingly
using
social
media
to
enhance
County
branding
,
improve
the
quality
of
services
,
and
provide
additional
outlets
for
sending
and
receiving
information
.
Conversely
,
unrestricted
use
of
social
media
has
the
potential
to
adversely
affect
,
rather
than
enhance
productivity
.
CW
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013
/
Page
1
of
5
POLICY
:
Social
media
services
are
to
be
used
in
a
responsible
,
efficient
,
ethical
,
and
legal
manner
to
support
services
and
programs
of
Palm
Beach
County
.
Use
of
social
media
services
for
official
County
business
use
shall
be
at
the
discretion
of
each
Department
Director
.
If
a
Department
Director
decides
to
use
social
media
for
his
/
her
department
,
failure
to
adhere
to
this
PPM
and
administrative
procedures
may
result
in
suspension
or
revocation
of
social
media
access
.
Willful
or
intentional
misuse
may
lead
to
disciplinary
action
under
applicable
provisions
of
the
Palm
Beach
County
Merit
Rules
.
The
County
reserves
the
right
not
to
publish
any
business
related
postings
and
can
remove
postings
at
any
time
.
ACCEPTABLE
USE
The
following
guidance
is
intended
for
County
employees
who
decide
to
have
a
personal
social
media
site
or
who
decide
to
comment
on
posts
about
official
County
business
:
•
State
your
name
and
,
if
relevant
,
role
,
when
discussing
County
business
;
•
Use
a
disclaimer
such
as
“
The
postings
on
this
site
are
my
own
and
don
’
t
reflect
or
represent
the
opinions
of
the
County
for
which
I
work
.
”
Personal
Use
All
County
employees
may
have
personal
social
media
sites
.
These
sites
should
remain
personal
in
nature
and
be
used
to
share
personal
opinions
or
non
-
business
related
information
.
Following
this
principle
,
helps
ensure
a
distinction
between
sharing
personal
and
County
views
.
Postings
referencing
official
County
business
,
programs
and
/
or
events
are
permitted
.
When
referencing
county
business
,
programs
and
/
or
events
a
relevant
hash
tag
may
be
used
e
.
g
.
#
PBC
,
#
PalmBeachCounty
)
.
County
employees
must
never
use
their
County
email
account
or
password
to
establish
a
personal
social
media
site
.
Professional
Use
All
official
County
-
related
communication
published
through
social
media
must
remain
professional
in
nature
.
Employees
must
not
use
official
County
social
media
sites
for
political
purposes
,
to
conduct
private
commercial
transactions
,
or
to
engage
in
private
business
activities
.
County
employees
should
be
mindful
that
inappropriate
usage
of
official
County
social
media
sites
may
be
grounds
for
disciplinary
action
.
If
social
media
sites
are
used
for
official
County
information
.
The
entire
County
site
,
regardless
of
any
personal
views
,
is
subject
to
best
practices
guidelines
,
and
standards
.
Only
individuals
authorized
by
the
County
may
publish
content
to
a
County
social
media
site
.
CW
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R
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013
/
Page
2
of
5
RESPONSIBILITIES
:
Primary
responsibilities
relating
to
social
media
use
are
outlined
below
.
Public
Affairs
shall
:
1
.
Establish
the
County
policy
on
social
media
;
and
Establish
design
standards
for
social
media
accounts
(
see
Attachment
1
)
.
2
.
County
Department
Directors
who
desire
to
increase
public
awareness
of
County
programs
,
policies
and
services
through
social
media
shall
:
1
.
Designate
an
employee
in
charge
of
posting
on
the
social
networks
;
Adhere
to
design
standards
for
social
media
accounts
,
as
established
by
the
County
’
s
Public
Affairs
Department
and
as
more
particularly
described
in
Attachment
1
to
this
PPM
;
Monitor
program
for
compliance
;
Maintain
up
-
to
-
date
public
records
;
and
Monitor
photo
/
image
use
.
Photos
and
images
used
in
any
postings
that
are
not
self
-
shot
must
be
credited
appropriately
and
with
permission
,
if
required
.
The
use
of
copyright
photos
and
images
is
prohibited
;
unless
stated
permission
was
given
for
use
e
.
g
.
Getty
Images
.
2
.
3
.
4
.
5
.
Approval
and
Registration
All
County
social
media
sites
shall
be
(
1
)
approved
by
Public
Affairs
;
(
2
)
published
using
approved
social
media
platforms
and
tools
;
and
(
3
)
administered
by
the
contact
or
their
designee
.
See
Attachment
1
.
Appropriate
Use
of
County
Social
Media
Accounts
Employees
representing
the
County
through
social
media
outlets
or
participating
in
social
media
features
on
County
websites
must
maintain
a
high
level
of
ethical
conduct
and
professional
decorum
.
Failure
to
do
so
is
grounds
for
revoking
the
privilege
to
participate
in
County
social
media
sites
,
blogs
,
or
other
social
media
features
,
as
well
as
disciplinary
action
.
Information
must
be
presented
following
professional
standards
for
proper
grammar
,
spelling
,
brevity
,
clarity
and
accuracy
;
and
to
avoid
jargon
,
obscure
terminology
,
or
acronyms
.
County
employees
recognize
that
the
content
and
messages
they
post
on
social
media
websites
are
public
and
may
be
cited
as
official
County
statements
.
Social
media
should
not
be
used
to
circumvent
other
County
communication
policies
,
including
news
media
policy
requirements
.
County
employees
may
not
publish
information
on
County
social
media
sites
that
includes
:
•
confidential
information
•
copyright
violations
CW
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-
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/
Page
3
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5
•
profanity
,
racist
,
religious
,
sexist
,
or
derogatory
content
or
comments
•
partisan
political
views
•
commercial
endorsements
or
SPAM
•
obscenities
or
material
that
appeals
to
the
prurient
interest
•
contains
personal
identifying
or
protected
personal
information
in
violation
of
Health
Insurance
Portability
and
Accountability
Act
of
1996
(
HIPAA
)
•
offensive
terms
that
target
protected
classes
•
is
threatening
,
harassing
or
discriminatory
•
promotion
of
violence
or
illegal
activities
•
information
that
could
compromise
individual
or
public
safety
•
advertisements
of
a
commercial
product
or
service
,
or
any
entity
or
individual
with
the
exception
of
revenue
generating
departments
or
special
circumstances
relating
to
communication
during
states
of
emergency
.
•
promotions
or
endorsements
of
political
campaigns
or
candidates
Records
Retention
Social
media
sites
contain
communications
sent
to
or
received
by
the
County
and
its
employees
,
and
such
communications
are
therefore
public
records
subject
to
Florida
Statutes
,
Chapters
119
.
Retention
requirements
apply
regardless
of
the
form
of
the
record
e
.
g
.
:
digital
text
,
photos
,
audio
,
and
video
.
The
Department
maintaining
a
site
shall
preserve
records
pursuant
to
a
relevant
records
retention
schedule
for
the
required
retention
period
in
a
format
that
preserves
the
integrity
of
the
original
record
and
is
easily
accessible
.
Furthermore
,
retention
of
social
media
records
shall
fulfill
the
following
requirements
:
•
Social
media
records
are
captured
in
a
continuous
,
automated
fashion
throughout
the
day
to
minimize
a
potential
loss
of
data
due
to
deletion
and
/
or
changes
on
the
social
media
site
.
Social
media
records
are
maintained
in
an
authentic
format
.
•
Social
media
records
are
archived
in
a
system
that
preserves
the
context
of
communications
,
including
conversation
threads
and
rich
media
,
to
ensure
completeness
and
availability
of
relevant
information
when
records
are
accessed
.
•
Social
media
records
are
indexed
based
on
specific
criteria
such
as
date
,
content
type
,
and
keywords
to
ensure
that
records
can
be
quickly
located
and
produced
in
an
appropriate
format
for
distribution
e
.
g
.
PDF
.
•
Each
employee
who
administers
one
or
more
social
media
sites
on
behalf
of
the
County
has
self
-
service
,
read
-
only
access
to
search
and
produce
relevant
social
media
records
to
fulfill
public
record
and
legal
discovery
requests
as
needed
.
CW
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R
-
013
/
Page
4
of
5
Palm
Beach
County
utilizes
an
automated
archiving
solution
to
comply
with
applicable
public
records
law
and
fulfill
the
above
records
retention
requirements
.
All
County
departments
establishing
new
social
media
accounts
must
provide
the
log
in
credentials
to
Public
Affairs
to
ensure
each
account
is
archived
and
searchable
.
EXTERNAL
POLICY
The
following
guidelines
must
be
displayed
to
users
on
all
social
media
sites
or
made
available
via
hyperlink
:
Monitoring
of
Third
Party
Content
This
County
social
media
site
serves
as
a
limited
public
forum
and
all
content
published
is
subject
to
monitoring
.
User
-
generated
posts
will
be
rejected
or
removed
(
if
possible
)
when
the
content
includes
:
•
confidential
information
•
copyright
violations
•
profanity
,
racist
,
religious
,
sexist
,
or
derogatory
content
or
comments
•
partisan
political
views
•
commercial
endorsements
or
SPAM
•
obscenities
or
material
that
appeals
to
the
prurient
interest
•
contains
personal
identifying
or
protected
personal
information
in
violation
of
Health
Insurance
Portability
and
Accountability
Act
of
1996
(
HIPAA
)
•
offensive
terms
that
target
protected
classes
•
is
threatening
,
harassing
or
discriminatory
•
promotion
of
violence
or
illegal
activities
•
information
that
could
compromise
individual
or
public
safety
advertisements
of
a
commercial
product
or
service
,
or
any
entity
or
individual
•
promotions
or
endorsements
of
political
campaigns
or
candidates
Public
Records
Law
County
social
media
sites
are
subject
to
applicable
public
records
laws
.
Any
content
maintained
in
a
social
media
format
related
to
County
business
,
including
communication
posted
by
the
County
and
communication
received
from
residents
and
tourists
,
is
a
public
record
in
accordance
with
PPM
#
CW
-
F
-
002
.
The
department
maintaining
the
site
is
responsible
for
responding
completely
and
accurately
to
any
public
records
request
for
social
media
content
.
VERDENIA
C
.
BAKER
COUNTY
ADMINISTRATOR
Supersession
History
:
PPM
#
CW
-
R
-
013
,
issued
08
/
02
/
'
2010
CW
-
R
-
013
/
Page
5
of
5
PPM
#
CW
-
R
-
013
,
issued
09
/
07
/
2011
PPM
#
*
CW
-
R
-
013
,
issued
08
/
13
/
2012
PPM
#
CW
-
R
-
013
,
issued
02
/
15
/
2019
CW
-
R
-
013
/
Page
6
of
5
