Pierce Township Social Media Guidelines

Purpose

To build communication and trust with our residents and visitors and encourage participation through comments and feedback.

Please be aware that when engaging with Pierce Township through social media, you agree to the following:

Moderation of Third-Party Content

Pierce Township does not necessarily endorse, support, sanction, encourage, verify or agree with third-party comments, messages, posts, opinions, advertisements, videos, promoted content, external hyperlinks, linked websites (or the information, products or services contained therein), statements, commercial products, processes or services posted on any social media account. Pierce Township social media accounts serve as a limited public forum and all content published is subject to preservation and disclosure in accordance with state public record law. User-generated posts may be rejected or removed if the content:

  • Contains obscenity
  • Incites or promotes violence or illegal activities
  • Contains spam or links to malware
  • Promotes illegal discrimination (e.g., housing discrimination)
  • Contains actual defamation
  • Uses the copyrighted work of another
  • Content not related to the subject being discussed

We do not allow information intended to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems. You participate at your own risk, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username and any information provided.

When we determine that a user has repeatedly violated these terms and conditions (3 or more instances), we may block or ban the offending user from the social media account where the violations occurred.

Retention

Any communications sent to or received by the township and its employees via social media may be subject to our retention and disclosure requirements. We are required to comply with public record laws to ensure government is open and that the public has access to public records and information of which our township is the custodian. These retention requirements apply regardless of the form of the record (e.g. digital text, photos, audio, and video). To that end, we automatically collect and store all information posted on township social media accounts. All information posted on township accounts may be subject to public disclosure, even if it has been deleted. The department maintaining an account shall preserve records pursuant to a relevant records retention schedule.

Emergency Postings

Social media accounts are not monitored 24/7. If there is an emergency, contact 911.