Social Media Comment Policy
The Town of Southern Pines uses social media to interact with residents, businesses and visitors about public issues related to our jurisdiction. Please note, the social media sites sponsored by the Town are moderated online discussion sites and subject to North Carolina Public Records Laws, and e-discovery laws and policies. All comments and content shared on our government-sponsored social media sites must pertain to items within the jurisdictional control or authority of our governmental unit. The Town of Southern Pines reserves the right to delete submissions that do not meet the purpose of this site as set out above. Please note this list is not intended to be all-inclusive:
1. Any content or comments that do not relate to the Town of Southern Pines or the authority of the Town itself.
2. Profane or obscene language or content as determined by the profanity filters offered through each social media platform. Such posts result in the comment/content being blocked through the social media’s profanity filter, which is not under the control of the Town.
3. Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetrates discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, s*x, s*xual orientation, age or physical disability.
4. Duplicate posts by the same author (the original post will be left intact assuming it follows the guidelines of acceptable comments or content).
5. Solicitations of commerce and/or content that contains gratuitous links. Links or references to other relevant governmental webpages or official government sites are acceptable.
6. Promotions or content related to political organizations of any type.
7. Advocation of illegal activity or those that compromise safety or security of the public.
8. Infringement on copyrights or trademarks.
9. Confidential or non-public information, including but not limited to any personally identifiable medical information and any content that violates the legal rights of the owner of said content.
10. When individuals/accounts violate this policy, the Town will delete the unacceptable content or comment. After three violations of this policy, the individual/account will be blocked from the Town’s social media page(s). Please note that the opinions and comments expressed on this social media site do not reflect the opinions and positions of the Town of Southern Pines government, its elected or appointed officials, and/or employees. If you have any questions concerning the operation of our social media platforms and the moderated discussion rules, please e-mail us at [email protected].
