TOWN OF HUNTINGTON SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES

This page is maintained by the Town of Huntington (“the Town”) as a means of communication between Town government and members of the public. All content on this page, including comments submitted and its list of subscribers, is considered public records and subject to Freedom of Information Law provisions.

Any individual accessing, browsing or using a Town Social Media site accepts without limitation or qualification the Town’s Social Media Policies (“Policies”). These terms and conditions apply only to Social Media sites (defined here as third party hosted online technologies that facilitate social interaction and dialogue, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and hereinafter referred to as a “Social Media site”) managed by the Town of Huntington.

The Town of Huntington maintains the right to modify these Policies without notice. Any modification is effective immediately upon its posting on the Social Media Policy page unless otherwise stated. Continued use of a Town Social Media site following the posting of any modification shall constitute an acceptance of such modification.

All users of a Town Social Media site are also subject to the site’s host’s own policies. The Town has no control over a third party site’s policies or their modifications. The Town also has no control over content, commercial advertisements or any other postings produced by the Social Media site that appear on the Town’s Social Media site as part of the site’s environment.

The Town operates and maintains its Social Media sites as a public service to provide information about Town programs, services, projects, issues, events and activities. The Town assumes no liability for any inaccuracies these Social Media sites may contain and does not guarantee that the Social Media sites will be uninterrupted, permanent or error‐free.

The Town welcomes public comments as a means of furthering sharing of ideas and advancing public dialogue. However, comments containing any of the following shall be deemed inappropriate content subject to removal and/or restrictions by the page Administrator or his/her designee(s):

a. Comments not related to the original topic, including random or unintelligible comments;

b. Comments in support of or, in opposition to, political campaigns or ballot measures;

c. Profane, obscene, violent, sexual or pornographic content and/or language;

d. Content that promotes, fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation;

e. Sexual content or links to sexual content;

f. Defamatory or personal attacks;

g. Threats to any person or organization;

h. Solicitation of commerce, including, but not limited to, advertising of any business or product for sale;

i. Conduct in violation of any federal, state or local law;

j. Encouragement of illegal activity;

k. Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems;

l. Comments that may cause an invasion of privacy; or

m. Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party.


A comment posted by a member of the public on a Town Social Media site is the opinion of the commenter or poster only. Publication of a comment does not imply endorsement or agreement by the Town of Huntington.

The Town reserves the right to deny access to Town Social Media sites to any individual who violates these Policies, at any time and without prior notice. The Town also reserves the right to report any violation of an individual site’s policies, such as Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, with the intent of that site taking appropriate and reasonable responsive action.

Comments are monitored only during business hours, and thus information conveyed after hours may not be received until the next business day.

A communication made through Town Social Media sites shall in no way constitute a legal or official notice to the Town of Huntington. For example, a post or comment that asks or purports to ask for public records shall not be considered and will not be treated as a public records request. A post or comment that requests or purports to request Town services shall not be considered and will not be treated as a request for services. A request for records, a request for services and any other communication related to a specific project or program should be directed to the appropriate Town department, agency or office in person, by mail, email or phone or through the online portals available on Huntington’s official website, www.HuntingtonNY.gov

The Town may select links to other Social Media sites and outside websites that offer helpful resources for users. Once an individual links to another page or site, the Town’s Policies no longer apply and you become subject to the policies of that page or site. The Town is not responsible for the content that appears on these outside links and provides these links as a convenience only.

Users should be aware that these external pages and sites and the information found on them are not controlled, provided or endorsed by the Town. The Town reserves the right to delete links posted by outside individuals that violate the Town’s Policies at any time without notice.

Prior permission is not required to link to Town Social Media sites; however, entities and individuals linking to Town sites shall in no way suggest that the Town has any relationship or affiliation with them or that the Town endorses, sponsors or recommends the information, products or services provided by or by way of those sites.

Prior permission is not required to embed Town Social Media site content; however, entities and individuals embedding content shall not present Town content as their own or otherwise misrepresent any of the Town’s Social Media site content. Furthermore, they shall not misinform users about the origin or ownership of Town Social Media site content. Embedded content from Town Social Media sites shall in no way suggest that the Town has any relationship or affiliation with that organization or that the Town endorses, sponsors or recommends the information, products or services of that site.

All information and materials generated by the Town and provided on Town Social Media sites are the property of the Town. The Town retains copyright on all text, graphic images and other content produced by the Town and found on the page. Users may, however, print or duplicate material for personal non‐commercial use, provided that material so reproduced retains the copyright symbol or other such proprietary notice intact on any copyrighted material so duplicated. Please include a credit line reading: "Credit: Town of Huntington Facebook (or Twitter or YouTube or other Social Media site) Page" or "Courtesy of Town of Huntington."

Commercial use of text, Town logos, photos and other graphics is prohibited without the express prior written permission of the Town of Huntington. Use of the Town logo is prohibited for any non‐governmental purpose. Any person reproducing or redistributing a third party copyright must adhere to the terms and conditions of the third party copyright holder. Holders of a copyright who believe the Town has failed to provide an appropriate credit line are asked to notify the Public Information Officer with detailed information about the circumstances, so that the proper credit line can be added or the material in question removed.

If you have any questions or concerns about the Town’s Social Media Policy or its implementation, please contact the Town’s Public Information Officer at cgeed@huntingtonny.gov.