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COUNCILMEMBERS HANDBOOK APPENDIX H <br />CITY OF SAN LEANDRO <br />GUIDELINES REGARDING THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA <br />Purpose of the Guidelines: <br />To provide guidance to City Councilmembers when a Councilmember is maintaining an <br />individual Social Media site. When used effectively, Social Media can function as a tool to <br />provide content to the public about City topics and services, leading to a more responsive and <br />transparent government, citizen engagement, and a higher level of public confidence. <br />Definition: <br />Social Media and Web 2.0 are terms used interchangeably to refer to activities that integrate <br />technology, social interaction and content creation. Social Media allows people to generate, <br />organize, share, edit and comment on web content through several means. There are two types of <br />Social Media sites. The first is where the user has complete control over the content and the <br />ability to post disclaimers and delete comments. Examples of these Social Media sites include <br />Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, and,blogs. The other type of Social Media sites <br />are shared media sites where a user agrees to participate in a group environment without having <br />the ability to control content or comments. Examples of these types of Social Media Sites are <br />group blogs and on -line newspapers. <br />Guidelines: <br />Legal Considerations <br />City Councilmembers should be aware that they have no expectation of privacy when using <br />Social Media sites. City Councilmembers should also be aware that any statements made by <br />them or others on Social Media sites may be actionable under libel, defined under California <br />Civil Code section 45, as follows: "Libel is a false and unprivileged publication by writing, <br />printing, picture, effigy, or other fixed representation to the eye, which exposes any person to <br />hatred, contempt, ridicule, or obloquy, or which causes him to be shunned or avoided, or which <br />has a tendency to injure him in his occupation." <br />City Councilmembers should also be aware that content on Social Media sites they manage and <br />maintain may create an affirmative duty on the Councilmember to be the custodian of record of <br />the content created, and posted on the social media site. <br />Creation of a Social Media Site <br />Each City of San Leandro Councilmember managed Social Media site should include an <br />introductory statement that clearly specifies the purpose and scope of the City <br />Councilmember's Social Media site. For example, a Councilmember's individual <br />Facebook page should be clearly distinguishable from the Councilmember's campaign <br />