HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0753.001 2010-2012BRITTANY SMART
Councilmember
Hawai `i County Council
District 6
Upper Puna, Ka' South Kona
DATE: July 17, 2012
Hawaii County Council
County of Hawai `i
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawai `i 96720
TO: Dominic Yagong, Council Chair
And Members of the Hawai`i County Council
FROM: Brittany Smart, Councilmember
SUBJECT: Relating to Communication 753: Social Media Policy for the Legislative Branch
Phone: (808) 961 -8263
Fax: (808) 961 -8912
bsmart@co.hawaii.hi.us
Please find attached a copy of the Social Media Policy for the Legislative Branch. Please refer this
matter to the Governmental Relations Committee (GRC) meeting for the July 18, 2012 agenda.
Thank you.
BS /jk
Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island
Hawai `i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer
Comm. N 753s
Ref. To: Present
Ref. Date.,, 18 2012
The Legislative Branch: Social Media Policy
1. Definitions
1.1
Social Media: The online technologies, tools and practices that people use to
share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives. Social media can take many
different forms, including text, images, audio, and video. These sites typically use
technologies such as websites, blogs, message boards, podcasts, wikis, and videologs to
allow users to interact.
1.2 Web Master and Team: Employees at the Department of Information Technology will be
responsible for the overall direction, design, and network administration of the County of
Hawaii intranet and web presence.
1.3 Social Media Assistant: Employee, designated by the Council Chair and County Clerk for
the Clerk /Council branch and the Legislative Auditor for the Legislative Auditor branch,
who is responsible for overall monitoring, direction and presence of the respective
Legislative Branch's web presence and social media outlets.
1.4 Social Media Authorized Agent: Legislative Branch employee who has been authorized
by their elected official, department head or immediate supervisor to post content on
behalf of the Legislative Branch for their office web pages and social media sites.
2. Applicability
These guidelines are applicable to county employees or contractors who create or contribute to
social networks, blogs, wikis, or any other kind of social media on behalf of the Legislative
Branch.
3. Acceptable Use
All use of social networking sites by officers and employees of the Legislative Branch shall be
consistent with applicable state, federal, and local laws, regulations, and policies, including all
information technology security policies; Hawaii Revised Statutes provisions for permitted
interaction between elected officials and staff (HRS 92 -2.5); Hawaii County Code, Article 15,
Code of Ethics, and Hawaii County workplace policies.
The following issues will be considered with all social media communication:
• Confidentiality — Officers and employees will not post or release proprietary,
confidential, sensitive or personally identifiable information or county government
intellectual property on social media websites.
• Disclaimer - The Social Media Assistant shall post the following language on all social
media pages:
"The comments expressed on this site do not reflect the opinions and position of
the County of Hawaii's Legislative Branch or its officers or employees. If you
have any questions concerning the operation of this online moderated discussion
County of Hawaii Legislative Branch Social Media Policy - 2
site, please contact the Legislative Branch at
socialmediaassistant cc hawaiicounty.gov."
• Personal vs. Professional Use - The social media websites administered by the
Legislative Branch are not intended for personal use. All communication on these sites
shall be work - related and no personal emails, social media sites, or websites shall be
referenced.
• Email addresses - Only generic email addresses will be used for social media sites.
Employee names will not be used.
Professional Use:
Social Media Authorized Agents posting content to social media sites are representing their
division or office and the Legislative Branch. Therefore, all agency - related communication
through social media outlets should remain professional in nature and should always be
conducted thoughtfully, respectfully, and in a professional and tactful manner. Agency - related
social networking is not to be used for political purposes, to conduct private commercial
transactions, expressing personal opinions regarding work - related or legislative matters, or to
conduct private business transactions or activities. Inappropriate usage of social media can be
grounds for disciplinary action.
Terms of Service:
Employees should be aware of the Terms of Service of the particular form of media. Each form
of social media has its own unique terms of service that regulate how users interact using that
particular form of media. Any employee using a form of social media on behalf of the Legislative
Branch shall consult with the most current terms of service in order to avoid violations. Any
conflicts between the terms of service of the social media site and this policy shall be reported to
the Social Media Assistant who can make a determination regarding the appropriateness and
viability.
4. Implementation
Every department/division and office needs an adopted communication plan with a clear strategy
for how social media fits into this strategy. The Social Media Assistant for each division or office
should spearhead this activity and, in doing so, should consider the following questions when
determining whether use of social media is appropriate:
• Who is the target audience?
• What information is the division or office attempting to communicate? Which social
media tools are the best to distribute this information?
• Who is responsible for managing the different social media tools /accounts? Will this
person represent the agency appropriately? Has staff been properly trained in the
use of social media? What team of people will replace the primary user in the event
of vacation, emergency or job transitions? If a consultant's work includes social
media outreach, which accounts will be used and who will approve content?
• How will the division or office collect and preserve social media content? Who will be
responsible for maintaining and documenting social media records for periodical
submission to the County Clerk and the County of Hawaii Committee on the
Destruction of Records?
When a division or office decides to use a form of social media that is deemed beneficial to its
mission, it should first establish protocols for using the service. It is important for Social Media
Authorized Agents to communicate expectations of appropriate usage for social media within the
workplace.
The Legislative Branch Social Media Policy
County of Hawaii Legislative Branch Social Media Policy - 3
There will be an authorization process for divisions or offices wishing to create an account for the
benefit of the Legislative Branch, with the designated Social Media Assistant as the authority to
oversee and confirm decisions. The Social Media Assistant will evaluate all requests for usage,
verify staff being authorized to use social media tools, and confirm completion of online training
for social media.
The Social Media Authorized Agent on the SMAP shall be responsible to set up the account,
create the user password, and maintain content.
Each office or department in the legislative will designate a Social Media Assistant that shall also
be responsible for supplying a list of all social networking application names in use and the
names of all Social Media Authorized Agents of these accounts. In addition, the respective Social
Media Assistant shall maintain a list of all office /departmental account passwords and
usernames. The designated Social Media Assistant of each office /department shall have the
authority to reset passwords if necessary.
Finally, each office /department's Social Media Assistant shall be responsible to monitor all social
media content for appropriateness. The Social Media Assistant shall have the authority to delete
submissions that contain:
1. Vulgar language.
2. Personal attacks.
3. Comments or content that promotes, fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of
race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, genetics, status with regard to
public assistance, national origin, physical or intellectual disability or sexual orientation.
4. Spam or links to other sites.
5. Clearly off topic.
6. Campaigning or electioneering.
7. Any communication between elected officials or district staff regarding items before the
council or a committee, or that has the potential to be a topic of discussion on an
upcoming council or committee meeting agenda in violation of Hawaii Revised Statutes,
Section 92 -2.5.
8. Friend links to other County Council Members.
9. Advocate illegal activity.
10. Promote particular services, products or political organizations.
11. Infringe on copyrights or trademarks.
12. Personally identifiable medical information.
13. Information that may compromise the safety, security or proceedings of public systems or
any criminal or civil investigations.
14. Any content, in his /her discretion, deemed unsuitable.
In summary, the Social Media Assistant shall:
• Oversee and confirm decisions regarding social media sites including authorization of
sites;
• Evaluate requests for usage;
• Submit requests for usage and action plans to the County Clerk or Legislative Auditor
as appropriate;
• Have final authority to edit or remove content within legal constraints per this policy;
• Have the ability to change /reset passwords;
• Verify and document agents authorized to use social media tools;
• Maintain a list of social media domains, active account Iogins and passwords;
• Maintain the SMAP files;
• Ensure that all Social Media Authorized Agents receive appropriate training and
training updates when deemed appropriate;
The Legislative Branch Social Media Policy
County of Hawaii Legislative Branch Social Media Policy - 4
• Ensure social media material is archived including providing a list of all social media
outlets and contact information.
• Monitor content for appropriate usage.
Procedures for Implementation:
1. Manager /Supervisor fill out SMAP with assistance from Social Media Assistant.
2. Social Media Assistant will submit SMAP to County Clerk or Legislative Auditor for
approval.
3. The Social Media Assistant and Office /Department Head will have two weeks to approve
SMAP, any revisions or corrections will be performed by the division or office's Social
Media Authorized Agent.
4. After approval by the Office /Department Head, the Social Media Assistant will notify the
Social Media Authorized Agent that the SMAP has been approved.
5. The Social Media Authorized Agent and any back -up agent shall be provided with
procedures instructions and trained appropriately.
6. The Social Media Authorized Agent shall be given access to open the desired social
media account.
7. The SMAP shall be reviewed once per council term.
5. Content Management
Clear comment policies for public users:
A clear outline of comment policies and terms of use shall be provided on each social media
page.
Content of Posts and Comments:
All employees shall use discretion as stated in this policy. The Social Media Assistant is
authorized to delete any content that is in violation of this policy. Social Media Authorized Agents
shall not engage in arguments with members of the public. Should any post received be
aggressive, accusatory, or argumentative, Social Media Authorized Agents will not answer the
post. Should an answer be required, Social Media Authorized Agents will consult with supervising
authority and through the supervisory authority if necessary, the Social Media Assistant.
6. Records Retention
Communications through any county social media is considered public record and shall be
managed as such. All comments or posts made to the Legislative Branch's wall or pages are
public, not private. Therefore, both incoming and outgoing posts by employees or non - employees
will become a part of the public record. Because others might not be aware of the public records
law, the Social Media Assistant shall post the language similar to the following on every social
networking site:
"Representatives of the Legislative Branch communicate via this website. Consequently,
any communication via this site, whether by a county employee or the general public,
may be subject to monitoring and disclosure to third parties."
In the spirit of transparency, Social Media Authorized Agents who receive messages through the
private message service offered by the social media site should encourage users to contact them
at a public e-mail address maintained by their agency. For private messages that Social Media
Authorized Agents do receive, they should be treated as constituent emails and therefore, Social
Media Authorized Agents or another authorized staff member should reply using their county
email account.
The Legislative Branch Social Media Policy
County of Hawai'i Legislative Branch Social Media Policy - 5
All Legislative Branch social media site privacy settings shall be set to public.
7. Security
The Department of Information Technology has in place county -wide network security
applications and procedures. All questions or concerns regarding security shall be directed to the
Social Media Assistant.
8. References
eAdv
This policy is modeled after the Social Media Guidelines: King County, and was retrieved from
www.kingcounty.gov /socialmedia. King County is located in the State of Washington.
Approved:
•
(1M+uwv...
Dominic Yagong, Counci[Cfhair
mae Kawauchi, County Clerk
11/7/°/.
Date
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Date 1
The Legislative Branch Social Media Policy