Social Media Terms of Use

Last updated: 04 Nov, 2024 09:36am

This page contains community guidelines between users of the social media accounts of Carterton District Council and the communication tools (including forums for posting) on any of our platforms.

The content of our social media channels is intended for informational purposes only. We will not accept any liability for loss or damage suffered by any person or body due to information provided on this site or linked sites. The information on our social media channels is provided on the basis that anyone accessing it takes responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its content.

 Council social media accounts are managed by the Communications team. We reserve the right to vary, suspend or terminate any Council social media accounts at any time.

Council reserves the right to:

  • determine what constitutes inappropriate content
  • edit or entirely remove inappropriate content
  • ban or block users from its social media communities. Users who have posts hidden or deleted three (3) times within a 12 month period will be blocked or banned.
  • comments may be turned off where the topic has previously required heavy moderation and to ensure that misinformation isn’t shared on our social media pages and to protect the wellbeing of our staff who read and respond to comments on our accounts.

Prohibited conduct

Council’s social media platforms are spaces for constructive dialogue and community engagement. We are committed to promoting a culture of respect, inclusivity, and safety for our staff and all users.

We do not tolerate any form of bullying, harassment, or racism in our online community, including comments directed at Council staff who monitor and manage our social media pages. We do encourage creativity, humour, and positive interactions.

We reserve the right to take immediate action against any behaviour that violates these principles, including deleting or moderating comments, banning accounts, or referring them under the Harmful Digital Communications legislation. Please note that comments containing offensive language will automatically be hidden.

Community guidelines

Users are strictly prohibited from engaging in any of the following behaviours on our social media platforms:

  • bullying, harassing, or intimidating other users, including Council staff, elected representatives, and members of the public.
  • posting or sharing content that is racist, xenophobic, discriminatory, or otherwise offensive based on race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or any other characteristic.
  • using language or imagery that promotes hatred or violence against any individual or group.
  • sharing personal information of others without their explicit consent.
  • engaging in spamming, including repetitive posting of similar messages.
  • posting content that violates any local, national, or international laws or regulations.
  • sharing misinformation or disinformation.
  • using GIFs and images to bully, harass, or intimidate other users.

User responsibilities

By participating in discussions or contributing content on our social media platforms, users agree to:

  • treat others, including other users, Council staff, and elected members, with respect, refraining from any form of bullying, harassment, discrimination, or negative personal commentary
  • refrain from posting or sharing content that is racist, discriminatory, or offensive
  • promptly report any instances of bullying, harassment, or racism to Council for immediate action
  • understand that any violation of these guidelines may result in removal of content, restriction of access, or other appropriate measures at the discretion of the Council.
  • stay on topic: Please keep comments relevant to the topic or theme of the post. If you disagree with our view on something, that’s fine – but if you decide to make that point every time we post, your comments will be considered spam and will be hidden or deleted, and you may be banned from the page.

Reporting procedure

Users are encouraged to report any instances of bullying, harassment, or racism to the Council immediately. Reports can be made by sending a direct message to our social media accounts or by emailing us at comms@cdc.govt.nz. All reports will be promptly investigated, and appropriate action will be taken.

Content moderation

We reserve the right to moderate and remove any content that violates these guidelines. This includes but is not limited to comments, posts, images, and videos. Users who repeatedly violate these guidelines may be banned from participating in our online community.

Protecting your own and others’ privacy

Don’t post comments containing personal, identifying, or confidential information such as account details or other personal information including address, telephone number, email, passwords, etc.

Electioneering

Electioneering is strictly prohibited from any of our social media platforms. Any post – positive or negative – made by any individual relating in any way to their own or someone else’s nomination, intention to run for Council or election campaign, will be removed immediately.  Comments may be turned off on the Carterton District Council Facebook page during the election period, from the close of nominations until the Monday following the election day.

Political neutrality

Carterton District Council is politically neutral. We do not advocate for a particular political party and our social media channels will not be used to promote any party’s political messages or other content. We reserve the right to remove any comments that may compromise our obligation to maintain political neutrality.

Monitoring

Our social media accounts are monitored during working hours on business days only. We will periodically monitor them in the evenings, weekends, and public holidays. We encourage users to submit service requests through our website or call Council if you have an urgent issue.

Platform Terms & Conditions

When active on our social media pages, you are expected to also comply with the terms of service for each platform: