Comment Policy
By posting or commenting on the City of Whittier’s social media pages and posts, you agree to the terms of use of the City of Whittier’s social media comment policy as provided herein.
1. As a public entity, the City of Whittier must abide by certain standards to serve all its constituents in a civil and unbiased manner.
2. All City of Whittier social media pages are intended to be “family-friendly,” so those posting are advised to keep all comments clean and appropriate by following these simple rules. Please note that we may utilize each platform’s automatic content filtering features should they be in place. All City of Whittier social media content is subject to monitoring and potential removal should comments be found to be in violation of this Social Media Policy.
3. The intended purpose behind establishing City of Whittier social media sites is to disseminate information on City programs and services, as well as important local news and updates as applicable, for the benefit of reaching a broader audience of Whittier constituents.
4. Comments containing any of the following inappropriate forms of content shall not be permitted on City of Whittier social media sites and are subject to removal and/or restriction by the Public Information Officer or his/her designees:
a. Comments not related to the original topic, including random or unintelligible comments; profane, obscene, violent, or pornographic content and/or language;
b. Content that promotes, fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, or national origin;
c. Defamatory or personal attacks;
d. Threats to any person or organization;
e. Solicitation of commerce, including but not limited to advertising of any business or product for sale;
f. Conduct in violation of any federal, state or local law;
g. Encouragement of illegal activity;
h. Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems; or
i. Content that violates a legal ownership interest, such as a copyright, of any party. j. Harassment or content which constitutes and/or facilitates stalking;
k. Content which violates the right to privacy;
l. Encouragement of violence;
m. Repetitive content;
n. Comments which may reasonably interfere with, inhibit, or compromise law enforcement investigations, police tactics, police responses to incidents and/or the safety of police staff and officers;
o. Posts or comments that contain any external links.
5. A comment posted by a member of the public on any City of Whittier social media site is the opinion of the commentator or poster only, and publication of a comment does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by, the City of Whittier, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the City of Whittier.
6. The City of Whittier reserves the right to deny access to the City’s official social media sites for any individual, who violates the City of Whittier’s Social Media Policy, at any time and without prior notice.
7. Comments posted to all City of Whittier social media pages and platforms will be monitored and inappropriate content as defined above will be removed as soon as possible and without prior notice. Please note, comments posted to Facebook and other social media sites with an pre-designed setting will automatically hide a comment if profanity is used within the post.
8. If you need to contact the Whittier Police Department, please call their front desk at (562) 567-9200, or for emergencies call 911 and ask for assistance. While comments posted on the City’s social media pages are monitored, posting a comment is neither the recommended, expeditious or efficient way to contact the City or Whittier Police Department.
9. Specific designees of various City departments shall monitor social media pages for comments requesting responses from the City and for comments in violation of this policy.
10. All comments posted to any City of Whittier social media site are bound by each specific platform’s guidelines. For instance, comments made on the City of Whittier’s page are also subject to Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and Community Standards, located at http://www.facebook.com/terms.php, and http://www.facebook.com/communitystandards, respectfully. The City of Whittier reserves the right to report any violation of such Statements of Rights and Responsibilities and/or Community Standards to each specific social media platform with the intent of that social media entity (ex. Facebook, Twitter, etc.) taking appropriate and reasonable responsive action.
11. By posting or commenting on the City of Whittier’s social media platforms, you agree to the City of Whittier’s terms of use. You participate by your own choice, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username and any information you provide therein. Further inquiries regarding the City of Whittier’s Social Media Policy and communications please email [email protected].
