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Fresno COG’s Social Media Policy

The Fresno Council of Governments (“Fresno COG”) has an overriding interest and expectation in deciding what is spoken on behalf of Fresno COG through the use of social media sites (including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Nextdoor, YouTube and X).

This policy provides guidelines for the use of social media as a means of conveying information about Fresno COG and its events and activities to its residents.

For purposes of this policy, “social media” is understood to be content created by individuals, using accessible, expandable, and upgradable publishing technologies, through and on the Internet. Examples of social media sites include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, blogs, etc.

For purposes of this policy, comments include information, articles, pictures, videos, or any other form of communicative content posted by the public or Fresno COG on their social media sites.

This External Social Media Policy document establishes guidelines for the establishment and use of social media by Fresno COG as a means of conveying information about Fresno COG and its events and activities. The intended purpose behind establishing Fresno COG’s social media sites is to disseminate information from Fresno COG, about Fresno COG, its partners or member agencies, to the public and all member agencies that we service. Nothing in this policy shall be applied to prohibit or infringe upon any communication, speech, or expression that is protected or privileged under law. This includes speech and expression protected under state or federal constitutions as well as labor laws or other applicable laws.

General Policy

  1. Fresno Council of Governments social media sites make clear that they are maintained by Fresno COG and that they follow Fresno COG’s Social Media Policy.
  2. Wherever possible, Fresno Council of Governments social media sites link back to Fresno COG’s official websites for forms, documents, online services, and other information necessary to conduct business with Fresno COG.
  3. Designated administrators will monitor content on Fresno Council of Governments’ social media sites to ensure adherence to both Fresno COG’s External Social Media Policy and the interest and goals of Fresno COG.
  4. Fresno Council of Governments reserves the right to restrict or remove any content that is deemed in violation of this External Social Media Policy or any applicable law. Any content removed based on these guidelines is retained by the designated Social Media administrator(s) for a reasonable period of time, including the time, date, and identity of the poster, when available. Upon removal of content, the Social Media Policy administrator will notify the commenter, when possible, that their comment or response has been deemed inappropriate and was removed due to inconsistency with Fresno COG’s External Social Media Policy requirements.
  5. These guidelines are displayed to users or made available by hyperlink.
  6. Fresno Council of Governments will approach the use of social media tools as consistently as possible, enterprise wide.
  7. Fresno Council of Governments’ website at https://www.fresnocog.org/ will remain Fresno COG’s primary and predominant Internet presence.
  8. All Fresno Council of Governments social media sites shall adhere to applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and policies.
  9. Fresno Council of Governments social media sites are subject to the California Public Records Act. Any content maintained in social media format that is related to Fresno COG business, including a list of subscribers, posted communication, and communication submitted for posting, may be a public record subject to public disclosure. For Public Records Act requests, please contact Fresno COG directly.
  10. Comments on topics or issues not within the jurisdictional purview of Fresno COG may be removed.
  11. This External Social Media Policy may be revised at any time.

Comment Policy

  1. As a public entity, the Fresno Council of Governments abides by certain standards to serve all its constituents in a civil and unbiased manner.
  2. Comments or content containing any of the following inappropriate forms of content shall not be permitted and are subject to removal and/or restriction by Fresno Council of Governments:
  • Comments not related to the business of Fresno COG or not relevant to the original topic;
  • Violent, profane, obscene, or pornographic content and/or language;
  • Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or national origin;
  • Content that threatens or defames any person or organization;
  • Content that is hateful or incites violence;
  • Solicitation of commerce, including but not limited to, advertising of any non-government related event, or business or product for sale;
  • Conduct in violation of any federal, state, or local law;
  • Encouragement of any illegal activity;
  • Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems;
  • Content that violates a legal ownership interest, such as a copyright, of any party.
  1. A comment posted by a member of the public on any Fresno COG 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, Fresno COG, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Fresno COG.
  2. Fresno Council of Governments reserves the right to deny access to Fresno COG’s social media sites for any individual who violates Fresno COG’s External Social Media Policy, at any time and without prior notice.
  3. Fresno Council of Governments shall monitor Fresno COG’s social media sites for comments requesting responses from Fresno COG and for comments in violation of this policy.
  4. When a Fresno Council of Governments employee responds to a comment, in his/her capacity as a Fresno COG employee, the employee’s name and title shall be made available, and the employee shall not share personal information about himself or herself, or other Fresno COG employees.

Terms of Service

Each type of social media maintains a “Terms of Use” agreement. All comments posted to any of Fresno Council of Governments social media sites are bound by these Terms of Use and Fresno COG reserves the right to report any user violation.