Social Media Terms of Use

SOCIAL MEDIA TERMS OF USE – Effective January 11, 2021

I. Acceptance of the Terms of Use. The following Terms of Use apply to all of the social media sites ("Social Media Site" or collectively "Social Media Sites") for the City of Boise and all of its departments, programs and projects (collectively "City"). The City reserves the right to revise, change, modify or remove portions or all of these Terms of Use with or without prior notice to you, the user/visitor ("You" or "User"). Any updates or changes to the Terms of Use shall be posted here and linked to all of the City's Social Media Sites with the date of the most current version posted above. Your use of the Social Media Site (e.g. posting comments, liking posts, liking pages, viewing content, etc.) will be deemed acceptance of the Terms of Use. If you disagree with any part of these Terms of Use, please do not use any City Social Media Site and immediately exit the City Social Media Site you are currently accessing.

II. Purpose of City Social Media Sites. The purpose of the City's Social Media Sites is to provide platforms by which the City may communicate matters of public interest concerning the City's programs, activities, new stories and photographs to its citizenry. The City welcomes your comments when relevant to the subject matter of the post or page to which the comment is responding and compliant with the Rules of Commenting ("Rules") listed below. It is the express intent of the City to create a limited public forum devoted exclusively to its postings and comments from members of the public relevant to the subject matter of the post to which they are responding.

III. Rules for Commenting. The City's seeks to maintain an environment on its Social Media Sites which is relevant, civil and appropriate for all ages. The City does not allow outside, independent posts to its Social Media Sites, but does allow for comments on its posts. All comments to the City's Social Media Sites are subject to monitoring. User-generated comments to the City's Social Media Sites will be rejected or removed, and the user could be blocked, if in violation of any of the following Rules. No user-generated comment shall:

1. Be unrelated or irrelevant to the topic of the specific post. The Social Media Sites are not meant for comments which do not directly relate to the purpose or topical scope of the page and the post upon which is being commented, including random or unintelligible comments;

2. Contain profane, obscene, or violent language or content;

3. Contain threats to any person or organization;

4. Contain defamatory, harassing or personal attack language or content;

5 Communicate private personal information (whether the user's or someone else's), including home address, phone home or cell phone number, personal email address, or other personal identification information;

6. Contain language or content which promotes, fosters, or perpetuates harassment or discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, citizenship status, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender identity/expression;

7. Solicit for, promote, or advertise a business or product, or propose a commercial transaction;

8. Support or oppose political campaigns or candidates for elective office;

9. Contain sexual content or links to sexual content;

10. Contain duplicate comments by the same User;

11. Encourage, solicit, or incite illegal activity, including speech integral thereof;

12. Include conduct in violation of any federal, state, or local laws;

13. Contain information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems;

14. Contain content which violates a legal ownership interest (e.g. patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret) of the City or any other party;

15. Contains confidential or proprietary information;

16. Contains information which may interfere, inhibit, or compromise current investigations, law enforcement tactics, or the safety of public safety department staff and officers;

17. Contain any content or language which constitutes an element of any crime; or

18. Contains spam or comments posted by "bots" or other automatic software programs.

IV. Photographs, Images, and Videos. The City does not allow the posting of photographs, images, or videos on its Social Media Sites. This prohibition includes but is not limited to, photos, drawings, cartoons, memes, videos, and gifs

V. Third Party Terms and Control. The City neither owns nor controls the third-party platforms which host its Social Media Sites, and those platform providers have their own separate policies and standards which govern use on these Social Media Sites in addition to these Terms of Use. The City cannot control the removal of comments associated with removed posts.

VI. Disclaimer. The City's Social Media Sites are not monitored around the clock. All information provided by the City on its Social Media Sites is on an "As-Is" basis. If you need an official source of information about the City, please contact the relevant City Department. The City disclaims any liability for advertisements, videos, promoted content, or comments accessible from any external websites. Any inclusion of external content or comments on the City's Social Media Sites does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by the City, nor do such comments reflect the opinions or policies of the City. All comments on the City's Social Media Sites by the public are the opinion of that commentatoronly. Users participate at their own risk, taking personal responsibility for their comments, usernames and any information placed on the Social Media Site by such user.

VII. User Privacy. Users shall have no right to privacy on the City's Social Media Sites. Any comments submitted to the City's Social Media Sites are public records subject to the City's record retention schedule and disclosure, as are their lists of fans (i.e. the individuals who "like" or otherwise show support of a User's comment).

VIII. License to Reuse Comments. By commenting on a City Social Media Site, you are granting the City and its affiliates, officers, employees, consultants, and representatives a worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, adapt, copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, translate, and reformat your comment in any existing or future media. You additionally agree that the City may publish or otherwise disclose your name or username in connection with your comment.

IX. Public Records or 911 Reports. Public records requests should not be made on the City's Social Media Sites. Please make such requests at https://www.cityofboise.org/departments/finance-and-administration/city-clerk/public-records/. Do not report emergencies or ask for assistance on this or any other City Social Media Site. Such reports or requests for assistance will not be followed up on. For emergency police or fire services call 911.

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