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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06172014 - C.116RECOMMENDATION(S): 1. APPROVE the attached Social Media Policy prepared by the County Administrator's Office. 2. DIRECT the Communications and Media Director to work with the County Counsel and Risk Manager to prepare social media site usage guidelines, terms of use disclaimers, and staff training curriculum, and to report back to the Internal Operations Committee in December on the status of these efforts. FISCAL IMPACT: No fiscal impact. BACKGROUND: On June 26, 2012, the Board of Supervisors referred to the Internal Operations Committee (IOC) the potential development of a policy governing the use of social media by County departments. Federal, State, and local governments have increasingly established a presence on social media sites in recent years to improve the quality of government services and enable greater citizen engagement. Publicly available social media sites started within people’s private lives, and were mainly used to connect with friends and family. However, as more and more people started to recognize the simplicity and value of communicating through social media sites, the use expanded to the work place. In the last two years, governments have seen more and more requests by their employees to use social media to do their work. While it seems like a natural progression for government to connect to citizens through social media, or to “meet the citizens where they are,” understanding how to take advantage of these new tools in the context of government is complex. It is important to evaluate the positive and negative aspects of using this communication APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 06/17/2014 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor Contact: Betsy Burkhart, 925-313-1180 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: June 17, 2014 David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: June McHuen, Deputy cc: C.116 To:Board of Supervisors From:INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Date:June 17, 2014 Contra Costa County Subject:SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY BACKGROUND: (CONT'D) > medium for government and to determine appropriate guidelines specifically for County departments when using or considering whether or not to use social media. The County Administrator assigned his Communications and Media Division with the task of researching this issue and drafting a policy. The IOC began studying the issue in August 13, 2012 and has received periodic updates over the last 18 months, during which time work on the policy had to be tabled for several months due to other emerging priorities. Surveys to assess the extent of social media use in the County have found a wide range of official and unofficial accounts maintained on behalf of County offices and departments. Guidance for using social media tools varies greatly. Whereas Health Services, for example, has a social media policy in place and its accounts are overseen by professional communications staff, several other departments are using only informal guidelines gleaned from other government agencies. Most staff who were contacted want to take advantage of sharing “how to” information and best practices among an internal users group. The recommended Social Media Policy will serve as the County's umbrella policy and one part of a three-pronged approach that will also include guidelines for specific social media tools and staff training. The Office of Communication and Media will develop the usage guidelines and a staff training curriculum with the assistance of Risk Management and departmental staff experienced in social media use. County Counsel will assist by reviewing specific “terms of use” disclaimers to be used on social media sites maintained by the County to ensure that the public has a clear expectation of what is acceptable on a County site. The combination of the policy and usage guidelines will address the following eight key areas: 1) employee access, 2) account management, 3) acceptable use, 4) employee conduct, 5) content, 6) security, 7) legal issues, and 8) citizen conduct. The Social Media Policy, in part, models the federal government’s practice of establishing a social media registry, including a process to designate official government accounts. The Office of Communications and Media will manage the registry and coordinate the internal Users Group comprising County account managers. The Users Group will facilitate the sharing of information pertaining to an industry where significant changes happen frequently and unexpectedly. The policy also requires account managers to receive annual training to become aware and remain abreast of the changing legal landscape regarding social media. While the companion usage guidelines and training curriculum are works in progress, it is important to enact the umbrella Social Media Policy even anticipating that it may need to be modified or refined, since many County departments are already using social media for outreach. CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: If the Social Media Policy is not approved, no uniform guidance will be available to County staff to encourage proper use and to mitigate the risks of social media tools for County programs. ATTACHMENTS Social Media Policy Contra Costa County Social Media Policy Social Media Policy June 2014 This policy establishes guidelines governing the use of social media by County employees for the purpose of communicating to the public. Social media should be understood to include any web-based tool that allows for open communication on the internet, including but not limited to micro-blog sites (Twitter,) social networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn,) video sharing sites (YouTube,) and image sharing sites (Instagram). Contra Costa County departments, offices and divisions may use social media when its use will further the business goals of the County and the missions of its departments. The County supports the secure use of approved and established social media tools to deliver information to the public. For departments, offices and divisions that have a business need to communicate via social media, this policy will govern the use of those tools. 1. All official Contra Costa County accounts on social media sites are considered an extension of the County s business and are governed by applicable County policies pertaining to email, Internet use and security. Accounts must be managed by County employees, not interns, contractors or volunteers. 2. Accounts should be established and managed by departments following terms of service negotiated with social media providers by the federal government and the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. Staff shall use official government accounts rather than personal accounts to represent County services and programs. 3. Departmental and office accounts will be centrally coordinated through a County Social Media Registry. Existing accounts will be grandfathered-in; new accounts will be requested through the Office of Communications and Media for departments that do not have official communications staff. All account administrators will provide their contact information and a backup contact for the registry in the event of a problem or security issue with their account. 4. Social media account managers will attend annual training to ensure compliance with applicable security and privacy laws, copyright, records retention, the California Public Records Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA.) 5. Contra Costa County s countywide and departmental websites will remain the primary and predominant internet presences. Whenever possible, content posted to County social media sites will also be available on related County websites to make information accessible to residents who do not use social media. Content posted to County social media sites should, when practical, contain links directing users back to official County Contra Costa County Social Media Policy Social Media Policy June 2014 websites for in-depth information, forms, documents or online services necessary for conducting business with Contra Costa County. 6. In the event of an emergency, all County social media contents and postings should be coordinated through the Office of Communication and Media or its designee. Departments with official communications staff will take the lead in delivering their emergency information and keep the Office of Communications and Media informed. The goal will be to ensure that messages are consistent across the many accounts and platforms managed by the County. Depending upon the incident, account managers may be asked to point to specific departmental social media sites that will serve as the main source of information. 7. Employees communicating on behalf of the County via social media are, in fact, representing the County at all times. Employees who fail to adhere to the guidelines and conduct themselves as agents of the County will be removed from account administration and may be subject to disciplinary action. 8. Guidelines for using approved social media tools and specific how to instructions for establishing and maintaining accounts will be provided to all County users, and updated regularly in an online tool kit.