Social Media Policy
SCOTTER PARISH COUNCIL
Social Media Policy
What is Social Media?
Social media’ is the term commonly given to websites and online tools which allow users to interact with each other in some way = by sharing information, opinions, knowledge and interests. This interaction may be through computers, mobile phones and new generation technology such as i-Pads.
Examples of social media websites include:
Social networking – (eg. www.facebook.com)
Video sharing – (eg. www.youtube.com)
Blogs (eg. london2012.com/blog)
Micro-blogging (eg. www.twitter.com)
Message boards (eg. www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbsn/home)
Wikis (eg. www.wikipedia.org)
Social bookmarking (eg. www.delicious.com)
Council Use of Social Media
Principles
• To publish information about the work of Scotter Parish Council to a wider audience.
• To avoid entering into online debates or arguments about the Council’s work.
• Social Media must NOT be used in the recruitment process for employees or new councillors - other than for the sole purpose of placing vacancy advertisements - as this could lead to potential discrimination and privacy actions, as well as breach of data protection issues.
Approved Council Social Media
• Parish/Town Council website - scotter.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk
• Facebook page – Scotter Parish Council
• Scotter News Forum can be used to share information but not engage directly with members of the public.
• No other social media page, group or site will be used to communicate official council information.
Users of Council Social Media
• The Parish Clerk has the ongoing authority to issue public statements on behalf of the Council and will therefore manage the Council’s social media interactions.
• Councillors may not post on behalf of the Council without express approval. When posting on social media in a personal capacity, councillors must take care not to give the impression that they are representing the Council.
1. Guidance for Parish Clerk on the use of Council Social Media
• The Clerk should be familiar with the terms of use on third party websites – eg. Facebook - and adhere to these at all times
• No information should be published that is not already known to be in the public domain – ie. available on the Council’s website, contained in minutes of meetings, stated in Council publicised policies and procedures, etc.
• Information that is published should be factual, fair, thorough and transparent.
• Copyright laws must be respected.
• Conversations or reports that are meant to be private or internal must not be published without permission.
• Do not publish anything that would be regarded in the workplace as unacceptable.
• The Clerk must remember that they will be seen as ambassadors for the Council and should always act in a responsible and socially aware manner.
2. Guidance for Individual Councillors on the use of Private Social Media
Councillors are free to use social media in a private capacity but should always take care not to give the impression that they are posting for or on behalf of the Council. The Council has adopted a Code of Conduct which is binding on all members. When using social media in your private capacity, please be mindful of the Code, and of the seven Nolan principles applicable to holding public office – selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. Even though you are posting as a private individual, others may still view you as representing the council, so it is important to uphold these principles.
If a member of the public contacts you publicly via social media for assistance with a council matter, acknowledge their contact publicly but respond to them in full privately and/or direct them to the Clerk where appropriate.
Do:
• Set appropriate privacy settings for any blog or networking site
• Watch out for defamatory or obscene posts from others on any blog or page and remove them as soon as possible to avoid any perception that you condone such views
• Avoid sharing any information that you could only have accessed in your position as a councillor
• Avoid using social media for ‘point-scoring’ against other councillors or against collective decisions you did not support.
• Avoid responding to arguments about or criticism of the Council. The Clerk will post an official response to comments on the Council Facebook page, if required, but will not engage with debates elsewhere on social media.
Don’t:
• Post comments that you would not be prepared to make in writing or in face-to-face contact.
Adopted – 19/04/2021 min ref: 2104/14
Reviewed - 23/06/2023 min ref: 2306/11