Social Media Terms of Use Policy

City of Irwindale

Social Media Terms of Use

City of Irwinale and Irwindale Police Department Social Media Programs

The City of Irwindale and the Irwindale Police Department maintain a social media program for the purpose of engaging and interacting with our community, providing relevant and timely community news, information and events, distribution of crime prevention and public safety tips, for urgent notifications of critical incidents, etc. which may affect residents, business owners and visitors to the City of Irwindale, and for those people having an interest in the Irwindale Police Department. 

The City of Irwindale’s Social Media Terms of Use apply to any social media sites maintained by the Irwindale Police Department

All social media platforms used by the Irwindale Police Department, including our website, mobile application, Facebook Page, Twitter account, Instagram account, LinkedIn Account, Youtube Channel and/or any other social media account(s) administered by the Irwindale Police Department, adhere to the City of Irwindale's Social Media Terms of Use, which states the following: 

The City of Irwindale (“City”) participates in social media to provide information of interest to the Irwindale community about City departments, services, issues, news and events. Social media is also a great way for the community to learn about City government.

Please be aware that the City does not operate social media sites. All social media sites on which the City participates are owned and operated by third-party entities, not affiliated with the City, which have different policies that may change without notice. 

By posting or commenting on any social media platform used by the City (including its departments and entities), you participate by your own choice, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username and any information you provide therein. 

You further agree to the following terms of use:

Limited Public Forum

All social media platforms used by the City are designated as Limited Public Forums. The City welcomes a person’s right to express his/her opinion and encourages posters to keep comments relevant to the topic in question. Posting of any content on any social media platform used by the City by any visitor, follower, subscriber or fan, constitutes acceptance of the terms of use described here in this policy.

For purposes of this policy, a social media platform is the website or app offered to the public to provide audio, video, still-photo or written communication between other members of the public and/or representatives of certain groups, businesses, organizations or departments. Examples of social media platforms include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, LinkedIn, website blogs with commenting capabilities, forums and emergency notification services.

The definition of content as used in this policy refers to any written copy, photos, graphics, videos, live-video streams, comments or any form of communicative content exchanged between parties.

Emergency or Non-Emergency Requests for Police Assistance

Social media accounts maintained by the Irwindale Police Department are not monitored 24/7. The posting of requests for police or emergency assistance, regardless if it is of an emergency or non-emergency nature, is discouraged and will not guarantee a response by the Irwindale Police Department or any emergency service provider.

In case of an emergency, or if emergency police assistance is needed, please dial 9-1-1. To request non-emergency police assistance, or if you wish to report a crime or information relevant to a crime, please call the Irwindale Police Department's Communication Center at (626) 430-2244. 

In the event you post information related to a crime, you may be placing yourself in a position of becoming a witness and subject to being subpoenaed into court.

Privacy

This is an official social media page for the City, and anything you post here, including comments, private messages, chats, “Likes,” and posts that have been deleted, may be subject to the California Public Records Act and subject to disclosure in the event of litigation.  As technology and laws change, updates may be made to this page and Policy without notice.

Special terms of use for City of Irwindale employees and public officers

City of Irwindale employees and public officers (such as Council or Commission members) are reminded that their contributions to social media sites may be considered government speech rather than private speech, and may be governed by California and federal laws such as the Brown Act or federal elections and campaign laws. The use of a private e-mail address, non-City identifier, or non-City moniker alone will not change a City employee's or public officer's speech from government speech to private speech. Even posting a disclaimer in the content, such as stating "these comments reflect my own private opinion and do not, in any way, reflect the opinion of the City of Irwindale," may not be sufficient to transform a City employee's or public officer's speech from government speech to private speech. 

If City employees, contractors, volunteers, agents, and any other person or entity participating in social media wish to post or comment on social media sites from their personal accounts, they shall do so on their own time and on their own equipment, and are not speaking on behalf of the City.

Posts and/or Comments

By participating on any social media site operated by the City, you agree to grant a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free license to any information posted.

Social media users must comply with intellectual property standards and must limit content to that which is rightfully posted.

Where applicable, posts and/or comments are not enabled on this site per the City’s Social Media Policy. However, wherever a user is able to post and/or comment anywhere on a City’s social media page, it should directly pertain to government activities of the City. Posts and/or comments containing any kind of inappropriate content shall not be permitted on City social media pages and are subject to removal by the City without prior notice.  Unpermitted content includes but is not limited to:

  1. Political issues, including posts about elected officials or candidates for elective office and issues appearing on an election ballot;
  2. Profane, indecent or obscene content;
  3. Sexual content or links to sexual content or obscene and indecent speech;
  4. Content that promotes, fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or national origin;
  5. Defamation, threats, violent or hate speech;
  6. Any political, campaign or election content;
  7. Promotional announcements not related to City business;
  8. Solicitation of commerce, including but not limited to advertising of any business or product for sale;
  9. Posts in violation of any Federal, State, County or Local law;
  10. Posts that encourages illegal activity;
  11. Information that may compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems;
  12. Content that violates a legal ownership interest, such as a copyright or trademark, of any party;
  13. Content that contains confidential or proprietary information;
  14. Content that violates another person’s right to privacy or any other right;
  15. Comments not related to the original topic, including random or unintelligible comments;
  16. Harassment or content which constitutes and/or facilitates stalking;
  17. Content which violates the right to privacy;
  18. Encouragement of violence;
  19. Repetitive content;
  20. Posts or comments that contain any external links; and
  21. Comments which may reasonably interfere with, inhibit, or compromise law enforcement investigations, police tactics, police responses to incidents and/or the safety of police staff and officers. 

A comment posted on any City social media page is the opinion of the commentator only and publication of a comment does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by, the City, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the City.  No posts and/or comments on any City social media page constitute a legally binding representation on the part of the City.  Furthermore, an opinion expressed on the City’s social media page is not a substitute for a formal statement in a public hearing process.

The City’s social media page may not be used for the submission of any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy. All such notices shall be provided and delivered to the City in the manner described by applicable law, regulation or contract.  For further information please contact either the person listed below or the City of Irwindale Deputy City Clerk at 626-430-2202.

All posts and/or comments posted to any City social media page are bound by the social media website’s legal terms and conditions of use.  The City reserves the right to report any violations of such conditions with the intent of the operator of the site taking appropriate and reasonable responsive action.

Denial of Use

The City reserves the right to restrict or remove any content that is deemed in violation of this Policy or any applicable law. 

The City’s social media pages are provided as a public service.  The City disclaims liability for ads, videos, promoted content, or messages accessible from any external web page.

The City reserves the right, without prior notice, to deny access to City social media pages for any individual who repeatedly violates this Policy.

Any litigation regarding the City’s actions, content, or information on any social media page shall be filed in the County of Los Angeles, regardless of where else venue may lie.

If you wish to contest the removal or hiding of your content, or your denial of access ("banned") from our social media platforms, you may do so by contacting the City’s social media manager at (626) 430-2200.

Disclaimers

The City disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from any comments posted on the City’s social media page.

The City reserves the right to change this policy at any time without notice.

Contacting the City of Irwindale

For more information about the City of Irwindale, please visit the official City of Irwindale website at https://www.irwindaleca.gov or call City Hall at (626) 430-2200, Monday - Thursday 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

The contact person at the City of Irwindale for social media sites is:

Iris Espino. Public Information Officer

5050 N Irwindale Avenue

Irwindale, CA 91706

626-430-2200 ext. 294

Email: iespino@irwindaleca.gov

Contacting the Irwindale Police Department

For more information about the Irwindale Police Department, please visit the Irwindale Police Department’s link on the official City of Irwindale website at https://www.irwindalepolice.org or call Police Department at (626) 430-2244.

The contact person at the Irwindale Police Department for social media sites is:

Sergeant Diego Cornejo, Public Information Officer

5050 N Irwindale Avenue

Irwindale, CA 91706

626-430-2244

Email: socialmedia@irwindaleca.gov