To view a PDF version of the City of Milton's Social Media Policy, CLICK HERE.

Purpose of City of Milton Social Media Policy

1. The City of Milton (the “City”) maintains its social media sites as a public service to provide information about City programs, services, activities, events, programs, news, projects, and facilities, and to share information regarding the City’s mission, vision, and values with the public. The City of Milton welcomes the participation of citizens, businesses, community partners, and visitors on our social media pages, but all City of Milton social media sites are limited public forums and are moderated by the City staff. Nothing in this Policy (the “Policy”) shall be read or interpreted in a fashion that violates any applicable law. In the event that there is a conflict with an applicable law and this Policy, the law shall control and not this Policy.
2. This Policy outlines the guidelines for members of the public posting comments and content, and while engaging on The City of Milton's official social media platforms. By participating on or in the City's pages, individuals agree to abide by these rules. Please also be aware that the City of Milton’s social media sites are also subject to and bound by the applicable social media site’s (for example, Facebook, Instagram etc.) specific use policy, and the City of Milton has no control over those policies, including content, advertisements, or other postings produced by the social media site that are a part of the site’s operational environment.
3. All of the City of Milton social media sites are intended to be limited public forums, and none of them are an open public form. The City of Milton has an overriding interest and expectation in protecting the information and content it posts on its social media sites, and that information and content posted by the City is for the benefit and safety of the public. The City of Milton reserves the right to lawfully remove any content at any time and to disallow or discontinue interactivity and postings on any City of Milton social media site or a specific post that violates this policy.

Definitions

1. City of Milton social media site means sites established and maintained by the City of Milton in which the City has control over the content posed on the site, except for the advertisements, content, or hyperlinks placed by the platforms owners’ vendors or partners, and/or their own policies. The City of Milton’s official websites are not considered social media sites. 
2. Comment means any content or link to content that is placed in response to a City of Milton post. This includes “likes,” “thumbs up,” “thumbs down,” or other single-click interactions. 
3. Commenters are the person or entity making the comment. 
4. Content means text, images, or audio-visual material of any kind contained in a post or comment. 
5. Disallowed content means content that may be removed by the City of Milton for violating the law or the City of Milton’s social media Policy. 
6. Limited public forum means a public space, property, or site (including a social media site) set aside by a government entity for expressive activities that may be restricted as to subject matter or class of speaker. In contrast, an open public form is a public space property or site that is open to expressive activities of any kind. The City of Milton’s social media sites are a limited public forum. 
7. Post or Posting means information, articles, pictures, videos, text, or any other form of communication placed on a City of Milton social media site. 
8. Social media means content created on internet platforms by individuals, business agencies, or other entities using accessible, expandable, upgradable technology on the internet. Examples of social media include but are not limited to Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Periscope, Flickr, Blogs, RSS, and Pinterest. 
9. Terms and conditions of use means the rules established by this Policy regarding who may post to the City of Milton’s social media sites, what content may be posted to the City of Milton’ social media sites, and what content may be subject to removal from the City of Milton’s social media sites.

Terms and Conditions of City of Milton Social Media Policy

1. City of Milton social media sites are not intended to be for any and all issues. Accordingly, posts on social media sites operated and maintained by the City of Milton must be related to the topic at hand and are moderated by City employees.
2. Any person or entity accessing, browsing, using, or posting on a City of Milton social media site accepts expressly, without limitation or qualification, agrees to the terms, and conditions of the City of Milton’s Social Media Policy. To keep the social media conversations focused, the City asks that anyone who posts/comments on City social media pages be mindful of and adhere to the following guidelines contained within this Policy. Members of the public accessing or posting to a City of Milton social media site are hereby notified that any articles, comments, and any other content posted or submitted for posting may be subject to the Open Records Act. C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.
3.  The City reserves the right to change, modify, or amend all or part of this Policy at any time, with or without notice, and to do so in its sole discretion. The City has the authority to administratively amend or modify this Policy as deemed necessary or appropriate, without notice. Any such modification is effective immediately unless otherwise indicated. Continued use of the City of Milton’s social media sites signifies a knowing acceptance of this Policy and any such modifications. The City of Milton reserves the right to terminate any of its social media sites at any time, and to do so with or without notice.
4. All persons using or accessing a City of Milton social media site are advised that the City of Milton does not verify, investigate, or guarantee the authenticity, accuracy, appropriateness, or security of any link, website, or content posted to its sites.
5. Please be advised that all people using or accessing a City of Milton social media site do so at their own risk and expressly agree to take all personal and sole responsibility for their comments, username, and any information or content provided or disclosed.
6. All persons using a City of Milton social media site are advised that the posting of external links by City of Milton team members on the City’s social media pages or by members of the public or outside entities does not represent an official endorsement of the link, content, website, organization hosting same, or the views expressed thereon, and that they should not be relied upon.

7.  The City of Milton does not receive any revenue from any advertising link or other content posted on its social media sites. The City of Milton also cannot prevent the author of a post or content on a City of Milton social media site from later removing or altering that comment or content.

8. All postings or content made to the City of Milton’s social media sites are subject to moderation by the City of Milton. All persons using a City of Milton social media site are advised that the owner of the site itself also may have a separate policy regulating content which is not under the control of the City of Milton, and that entity may also moderate content.

9.  The City of Milton itself, however, reserves the right to remove the following prohibited content and any other content deemed by the City of Milton, in its sole discretion, to be in violation of this Policy or any applicable law:

A. Any post or comment that is unrelated to the particular topic, post, site, blog, or article being commented upon, including random, unintelligible, or repetitive/duplicative comments;

B. Profane or vulgar language or content, including disguised cursing (for example using *** so the curse word does not appear in its totality) as well as graphic images;

C. Lewd, repulsive, revolting, or otherwise unnecessary or inappropriate content, especially without obvious relevance or value;

D. Posts or comments that promote, foster, perpetuate, encourage, advocate for, or incite discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, sex, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, military status, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, or any other protected class;

E. Commentary that promotes violence or illegal activity;

F.  Home addresses, personal phone numbers, or other personal identifying information of other citizens, or personal information of a poster themselves, or postings made for the purpose of harassment or stalking, or for the purpose of promoting or advertising a poster’s social media websites, or for any other outside business or other outside entities;

G. Obscene sexual content or links to sexual content;

H. Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems;

I. Content that promotes illegal activity or conduct;

J. Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party;

K. Advertisements, solicitations, spam, or the solicitation of a business or other outside entity, including other websites and content providers;

L. Comments from children under thirteen (13) cannot be posted. In order to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, by posting on a City social media site, users acknowledge that they are at least thirteen (13) years of age or older. Those 12 years or younger may email the City instead;

M. Anonymous posts;

N. Comments in support of or opposition to political campaigns or ballot measures;

O. External links (in the interest of protecting citizens from potential dangerous phishing attempts that could surreptitiously appropriate their personal, financial, or other identifying information) as well as links to pornographic sites, or sites that install malware or unwanted software, links to sites that seek to raise funds or recruit for terrorist organizations, links containing child sexual abuse imagery, links to content encouraging others to commit criminal acts or commit self-harm, links to sites that spread deceptive or misleading content, or links to violent content;

P. Postings that violate trademarks, copyrighted material, or which otherwise violate the law;

Q. Content or postings that appear to be either libelous or slanderous;

R. Material known to be plagiarized.

Moderation and Disclosure

1. The City of Milton reserves the right to restrict the public’s ability to comment on a specific post or category of posts, to end and close the ability to comment after a period of time, and to do so in the sole discretion of the City of Milton.
2. The City of Milton also reserves the right to the extent, scope, time, and manner of its moderation Policy and activity. Typically, no City of Milton social media site will be monitored or moderated on legal holidays or outside the City’s normal hours of business operations.
3. Posting or commenting on a City of Milton social media site constitutes acceptance of these terms. Posts or comments that violate the posting and commenting guidelines listed above may be removed from the City of Milton’s social media pages, at the sole discretion of City of Milton staff.
4. All posts and comments to a City of Milton social media site are a public record subject to public disclosure. No person or entity who posts or submits content to or on a City of Milton social media site has a reasonable expectation of privacy or any expectation of privacy.

Americans with Disabilities Statement

1. The City of Milton follows all applicable laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), and is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in accordance with applicable laws to enable the full participation and engagement by all persons with all aspects of City services including our online social media sites.
2. We encourage any users to report on any accessibility barriers they encounter on the City of Milton’s social media websites, so as to allow the City to identify and address such issues in a timely fashion. Individuals may request a reasonable accommodation to access the City of Milton’s social media sites by contacting us at communications@miltonga.gov. Those making a request for a reasonable accommodation should provide details about their needs and the type of accommodation they will need to fully access City of Milton social media sites.
3. Upon receipt of a request for a reasonable accommodation, the City of Milton will engage in an interactive process to determine the most appropriate accommodation considering the nature of the disability and the impact upon the social media site.
4. Please be aware the City of Milton social sites are operated on platforms that are not under the control of the City of Milton. In some cases, there may be an access barrier not under the control of the City of Milton, and it may be unable to make an accommodation under those circumstances. In these instances, the request for a reasonable accommodation may need to be made to that website operator. In those cases, the City of Milton will attempt to assist a requester to the extent it is able to do so, but it is not responsible for or able to provide a reasonable accommodation, and that responsibility shall be with the website operator.

Links

1. The City of Milton may select and post links to other outside websites or social media sites that in the City’s sole determination offer helpful or useful information to members of the public.
2. When a person accesses such a link, they are advised that when linking to another site or page, they are no longer subject to the City of Milton’s social media site, and while they are on another entity’s site, they are subject to policies of that outside site. The City of Milton is not responsible for the content on such outside sites and the City of Milton does not control or endorse said outside sites.
3. The City of Milton retains the right to delete any and all links with no notice. The City of Milton further reserves the right to delete any and all links posted by individuals.

Intellectual Property

1. All information and content created and posted by the City of Milton on its social media websites are the property of the City of Milton. The City of Milton retains copyrights and trademarks on all text, graphic images and other content produced by the City of Milton, including use of City symbols, logos, photos, graphics, and trademarks. Use of the City of Milton’s symbols, logos, photos, graphics, and trademarks (“intellectual property”) for any commercial use is prohibited without the express written permission of the City of Milton.
2. Use of the City of Milton’s logo or other official City identifying information in a manner to falsely misrepresent or falsely claim to speak for the City of Milton, or which could cause confusion among the public about the origin or nature of information, especially information concerning matters of public safety, is prohibited. Unauthorized use of the City’s intellectual property may result in legal action.
3. The City of Milton retains all rights, including the exclusive copyright, to all content created by its employees that is posted to a City of Milton social media site, and it retains the sole right to reproduce said content at its own determination.
4. A person or entity posting content to a City of Milton social media site expressly agrees and warrants to hold harmless the City of Milton, its official officers, elected officials, directors, vendors, volunteers, employees, contractors, interns, and agents against all damages, losses, liabilities, judgments, causes of actions, costs, or expenses (including attorney fees) arising out of any claim by a third party related to any material posted by said person on a City of Milton social media site.
5. Furthermore, any person posting content on a City of Milton social media site expressly agrees and warrants that all content posted by said person or entity is done fully in compliance with applicable law, adheres to the terms and conditions of all third-party intellectual property rights holders, that they have the legal right to post such content, and that they indemnify the City of Milton from any claims bought by a rights holder against the City of Milton for the content said person or entity posted on a City of Milton social media site. This includes claims related to or arising out of copyrights, trademarks, name, image, likeness, or right of publicity, and patent claims.
6. The City of Milton follows all applicable laws and will exercise reasonable care to respect artists and other content creators for use or posting of content that is available under a creative license such as fair use or parody.
7. Those who are a copyright, trademark, patent holder or other rights holder, and who believe that content posted on a City of Milton social media site did not properly provide a credit line, or otherwise does not comport to relevant law regarding intellectual property rights, should notify the City's Communications Department, which can be reached at communications@miltonga.gov, with a detailed description of the content and the date it was posted, and the relevant circumstances so that the material in question may be properly addressed.

City Social Media Sites Not to be Used for Legal Notices or Claims

1. Although feedback is welcome related to City services, and City staff may respond to inquiries, the City of Milton’s social media pages are not designed to be used as a primary source for addressing questions, complaints, or other requests. As such, the City of Milton’s websites cannot be used for open records requests, nor can they be used for service of process or other legal notices.
2. The City of Milton expressly rejects and will not accept or consent to legal notices or service of process by use of its social media sites. City of Milton social media sites also cannot be used for the purpose of requesting an inspection, or giving notice required by any statute, regulation, or ordinance.

Reporting Crime Statement

1. The City of Milton social media sites cannot be used for reporting crime, hazards, or repairs, or to make formal complaints or claims against the City of Milton. As noted above, among other reasons, City social media pages are not monitored 24/7. Those who have an emergency or need police or fire assistance should call 911 immediately. Do not use any City of Milton social media sites or accounts to report a crime, fire, or other emergency.
2. All non-emergency contacts should be directed to the appropriate department by using the City’s dial-by-department directory at 678-242-2500.
3. Members of the public are advised that any content placed on a City of Milton social media site that contains a serious threat, consists of, or promotes illegal activity will be reported to law enforcement. For more information about departments and City services, visit www.miltonga.gov or email info@miltonga.gov.