Social Media Public Disclaimer

SOCIAL MEDIA

PUBLIC DISCLAIMER / TERMS OF USE 

CITY OF PARMAOUNT SOCIAL MEDIA SITES ARE DESIGNATED AS LIMITED PUBLIC FORUMS PURSUANT TO THIS POLICY 

The following Public Disclaimer/Terms of Use must be displayed or linked on any City social media site. Any moderation or deletion of social media site content, including comments, must follow this policy. Comments may not be deleted solely for being critical of the City or based on viewpoints expressed, unless the comment violates any provision in this policy.

THIS SOCIAL MEDIA SITE IS DESIGNATED AS A LIMITED PUBLIC FORUM.

The purpose of the City of Paramount’s social media sites is to share news, public information, and updates regarding the activities, policies and programs of the City. However, the information and content contained on our social media site are only intended to supplement, not to replace, the information available through official City channels, in general, on the City’s official website at https://www.paramountcity.com.

Under no circumstance should an individual report an emergency through a direct message or comment on a City social media site. In cases of an emergency or immediate danger, please dial 9-1-1.

If you are a reporter, please direct your inquiries to the Public Information Officer at (562) 220-2000. We do not post nor respond to media inquiries on our social media sites.

The City is not responsible for comments, remarks, messages, or other material posted to its social media sites and does not, in any way, guarantee or warrant the content, accuracy, or use of social media content from members of the public. The City specifically disclaims all liability for claims or damages that may result from any posting on its social media sites. Opinions expressed on our social media sites are those of the person posting and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, practices, or policies of the City. In no event shall the City be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on information on our social media sites.

By accessing, viewing and/or posting content to our social media sites, you accept, without limitation or qualification, these terms and conditions of use, as well as any other terms of use required by the companies that own and operate the social media sites. Your use of our social media sites is deemed acceptance of these terms and conditions and to have the same effect as if you had physically signed an agreement.

These terms and conditions are in addition to the third-party policies, terms, and conditions of any social media provider (i.e., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc.). The City is subject to the terms of use for this site by the provider. The City does not control the terms and conditions of the social media provider.

Your Comments Are Public and Reviewed
Our social media sites are public and viewable by everyone. Comments and shared information also become part of a public record and may be archived in order to abide with applicable laws, e-discovery requirements, and document retention policies. Information shared through our social media sites may be subject to release to those who request it through the California Public Records Act or other public information statutes. Your use of our social media sites and the posting of any content is deemed a waiver by you of any rights to privacy or confidentiality.

Please be aware that we review all comments after you post them. Because the site is visible to all ages, we expect persons who leave comments to do so with respect, good manners, and careful thought of who might be seeing them.

Consistent with the purpose of this Limited Public Forum, we reserve the right to moderate, monitor, remove, prohibit, restrict, block, suspend, terminate, delete, discontinue, or reject comments and access to comments if they are:

• Profane, obscene, pornographic, abusive, threatening, racist, defamatory, offensive or contains violent language
• Trolling (posts that are deliberately offensive, provocative, or disruptive and intended to hijack our content, deflect our information off-track)
• Messages that are a violation of existing law or regulation
• Violations of the intellectual property rights of others
• Spam (unsolicited messages that are usually intended as advertising or messages that are repeatedly posted on the same site)
• Attacks or calls-to-action for attacks on specific groups or individuals
• Intended to harass, threaten or abuse an individual or are defamatory, derogatory, or are personal attacks on any City official, employee, resident, or business
• Hateful or discriminatory comments regarding or comments that promote, foster, or perpetuate discrimination of harassment on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, political beliefs, or a protected class under local, state, or federal law
• Links or comments containing sexually explicit content or material
• Links to malicious software or sites
• Cyber-stalking or threats to an individual or organization, or intended to collect or post private information and data without disclosure (e.g., doxxing)
• Messages that relate to confidential, private, or proprietary information
• Messages that are inappropriate, in poor taste, or otherwise contrary to the purposes of our site or the business of the City.
• Self-promotion
• Solicitation of funds
• Unsolicited business proposals and inquiries
• Reports of criminal or suspicious activity
• Encouragement of illegal or unlawful activity
• Posts not in compliance with our social media host’s own terms and conditions
• Posts that attempt to or do take over a thread in ways that are contrary to these terms and conditions (including off-topic, random, or unintelligible posts)

The above list is not necessarily exhaustive, and the City reserves the right to remove or restrict any post or comment that violates the purpose or spirit of these terms and conditions.

Individuals who comment or post to our social media sites and who repeatedly violate these terms and conditions may, among other actions, be banned, prohibited from posting future comments, or be reported to the social media provider.

We do not edit comments for the purpose of removing objectionable or inappropriate content and leaving non-objectionable or appropriate content. If you want your comments to remain posted, please ensure that you comply with this policy.

While comments and direct messages may be posted or sent at any time because of the nature of social media, comments and messages will be routinely reviewed during regular business hours.

Information contained on our social media sites may be intercepted, recorded, read, copied, and disclosed by and to authorized personnel for any official purpose, including criminal investigations. Unauthorized access or use of our social media sites, including attempting unauthorized copying, altering, destroying, or damaging site content, may violate the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and may subject violators to criminal, civil, and/or administrative action.

Privacy
Do not include personally identifiable information in the body of your social media comments. This is for your own protection and privacy.

Endorsement
The City does not endorse commercial entities, products, services, or other non-governmental organizations or individuals through social media. Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or non-governmental organizations or individuals are solely for informational purposes or posted by the social media provider.

Our Comments Are Not Legal Advice and Your Comments Are Not Official Notice
Postings, interactions, and messages made through social media sites do not constitute legal advice. Likewise, anything you post is not considered an official notice or comment to the City or to any official or to any of our employees for any purpose. The City disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, for any of the information and content provided on its social media site.

You May Own Your Comments, but We Can Use Them
You may own all the comments, content, messages, and similar information that you post on our social media sites (subject to any terms or conditions of the social media provider). You are responsible for how you control the sharing of that content through the privacy and application settings of the social media provider.

By posting on our social media sites, you grant the City a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use that content. That means the City can reproduce, distribute, publish, display, and otherwise use your content. If you do not wish to have the content you have posted used, published, copied and/or reprinted, it should not be posted on our social media sites.

Advertisement and Link Disclaimer
The information provided on our social media sites and any links or references thereon are provided as a courtesy to site visitors. The City does not endorse, recommend, nor approve of any person, any product, or any service mentioned on the City’s social media sites nor referenced or contained on any other website or social media page.

The City does not endorse nor support any advertising that may be contained on its social media site nor on any of the pages of any linked or referenced sites. The City does not generally link to the following:

• Candidate or nominee sites nor sites advocating a position on City or ballot issues
• Corporate commercial sites (Please note that non-profit organizations may include links to member or sponsor organizations. However, such links are not an endorsement or recommendation by the City.)
• Personal home pages

External links may be provided at times and are posted only as additional information or resource material. The City does not attest to the accuracy of information provided by any links. Should you access another site through a link, you are subject to that destination site’s own privacy policy and terms of use.

Intellectual Property Use
Images, photographs, written works, and graphics used by us on our social media sites, unless otherwise noted, are the property of the City and are protected under both United States and International Copyright Laws. Our images, photographs, written works and graphics may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without the written permission of the City. Use of any image or content from our social media sites as the basis for any other, literary writing, photograph, or illustration (in any format) is a violation of the United States and International Copyright laws.

For questions pertaining to our intellectual property rights or for permission to reproduce our social media please contact the City’s Public Information Officer at (562) 220-2000.

Indemnification
By using our social media sites, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold the City and its officers, directors, employees, contractors, representatives, agents, successors and assigns harmless from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, settlements, costs, and liabilities of any nature whatsoever (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) to which they may become subject and which arise out of, are based upon, are as a result of, or are in any way connected with your use of our social media sites, including any third party claims of infringement or any breach of these terms and conditions.

Jurisdiction
By using our social media sites, you agree that any claim or dispute relating to the posting of any content on our social media sites shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of law provisions, and you agree to be bound and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California.

This Policy Is Subject to Amendment
This policy may be updated or amended at any time without notice. Each time you access or use our social media sites, the policy then in place at the time of such access or use will govern your usage and posting.