CC SR 20211221 04 - Social Media Policy
RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 12/21/2021
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business
AGENDA TITLE:
Consideration and possible action to approve a Social Media Policy for use of the City’s
social media sites.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Approve a Social Media Policy for use of the City’s social media sites by Staff and
the public.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Megan Barnes, Senior Administrative Analyst
REVIEWED BY: Karina Bañales, Deputy City Manager
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. Draft Social Media Policy (page A-1)
B. Text of AB 992 (page B-1)
BACKGROUND:
As social media increasingly becomes a major, if not primary source of news and
information for the public, government agencies rely on these platforms to reach their
constituents.
For more than a decade, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes has used social media
platforms to provide general information about City events and activities to the public, and
to share information from other public agencies and news outlets about topics of
relevance and interest to residents. The City regularly uses Nextdoor, Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. The City additionally maintains or is in the process of
claiming ownership of existing My Google Business pages for City parks and reserves in
the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve. Nextdoor, which allows agencies to send messages
to residents in specific neighborhoods, is also used for targeted one-way messages about
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CITYOF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
recent incidents of residential burglaries and robberies, vehicle burglaries, and thefts from
unlocked vehicles to help combat near-repeat crime patterns. Staff also plans to begin
using LinkedIn for job recruitments.
Government agencies are encouraged to adopt policies governing the use of their social
media pages to reduce liability that may arise from free-speech claims, and to ensure
processes and guidelines are in place, including for content moderation.
The City of Rancho Palos Verdes has explored implementing a social media policy in the
past, but a final policy was never brought to the City Council for adoption. In a September
2016 staff report regarding policy on Council members’ communication with other
agencies in their personal vs. official capacity, the City Attorney’s Office recommended
adoption of a social media policy. To that end, Staff presents a draft Social Media Policy
(Attachment A) for the City Council’s consideration, a summary of which is provided
below.
DISCUSSION:
Generally, the draft Social Media Policy establishes the purpose of the City’s social media
pages, sets guidelines for City Staff’s use of the City’s social media accounts, and sets
standards by which the public may comment or post.
The purpose of the City’s social media pages is to provide content and information to
community members about City services, events and activities; to further the goals of the
City and the missions of its departments; and to encourage public engagement while
enabling the City to reasonably moderate content.
The policy also notes that communications sent to or received by the City are public
records and must be preserved pursuant to the City Council’s records retention policy.
Public Forums
The policy establishes all but one of the City’s social media pages as limited public
forums, which are places where governments can implement reasonable and viewpoint
neutral rules (for example, similar to a City Council meeting).1
Members of the public interacting with these City social media pages (Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, My Google Business, and LinkedIn), must abide by
guidelines established in the Social Media Policy (which are discussed in further detail
later in this report).
1 In Perry Education Association v. Perry Local Educators’ Association [460 U.S. 37 (1983)], the U.S. Supreme Court
established three types of government spaces where expressive activities may take place: traditional public
forums; limited, or designated forums; and nonpublic forums. A limited forum is defined by the Merriam-Webster
Dictionary of Law as a public forum created by the government voluntarily for expressive activity that may be
restricted as to subject matter or class of speaker. The restriction of a limited public forum must be able to
withstand strict judicial scrutiny of its effect on First Amendment rights.
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The policy establishes that Nextdoor is not a public forum. This is recommended to
maintain the City’s practice of using Nextdoor as a one-way channel of communication,
with commenting on City posts disabled. Unlike other social media platforms, Nextdoor
was designed to create a sense of privacy among its members and ensure their
conversations stay among neighbors. Public agency accounts can only see comments
made on the agency’s posts (if commenting is enabled) and are unable to view resident
profiles and all other posts and comments. Disabling comments on the City’s posts
ensures conversations on Nextdoor stay in neighborhoods. Residents are still able to
communicate with Staff via private message , and posts about meetings or issues
soliciting public feedback contain information about how to share input or get in touch with
Staff with questions or concerns.
Staff Use
The policy establishes rules for Staff use of the City’s social media pages, including the
types of content that can be posted, noting that posts cannot express the personal
opinions of employees, but may only reflect authorized, accurate and timely content
consistent with City Council actions, City policy, the goal of disseminating information,
and providing municipal services to residents.
The policy also enables Staff to remove comments if deemed offensive or not in
accordance with guidelines set in the policy. This includes:
• Comments that are not topically related to the particular posting being commented
upon
• Comments in support of, or opposition to, political campaigns, candidates or ballot
measures
• Profane language or content
• Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race,
creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, or status with regard to public
assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation, as
well as any other category protected by federal, state, or local laws
• Sexual content or links to sexual content
• Solicitations of commerce or advertisements including promotion or endorsement
• Conduct or encouragement of illegal activity
• Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or
public systems
• Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party
The policy also notes that private messages to and from the City’s social media accounts
are to be treated by Staff the same way as messages under the City’s email policy.
The policy states that employees conducting social networking discussions on their
personal accounts related to City business matters in off-City time shall indicate that
viewpoints are personal and do not necessarily reflect City opinion. Additionally, if the City
receives a Public Records Act request for content that is posted on a private page
regarding content that is potentially related to City business, the City may ask the
employee to provide the content. It is the employee’s responsibility to provide the content
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if available. With that in mind, employees posting content related to City business on
personal accounts, should archive said content, according to the guidelines in the policy,
before considering deleting from their account for any reason.
City Council/Advisory Board Member Use
The policy notes that when using social media, members of the City Council, City
commissions or committees must act in compliance with all applicable laws, including
requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act. Notably, the Brown Act was amended by
Assembly Bill No. 992 in 2020 to establish rules for social media communications
(Attachment B). Public officials are allowed to use the City’s social media platforms to
communicate with the public to answer questions, provide information, or solicit
information from the public regarding a matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction
of the board. However, public officials cannot discuss such matters among themselves
on social media. Additionally, the Brown Act prohibits public officials from responding
directly to any post and/or comment that is made, posted, or shared by any other member
of the same legislative body regarding such matters.
It should be noted that the policy applies to the use of personal as well as official social
media accounts if discussing City business.
Public Use
To promote respectful discussion, the policy requests members of the public be courteous
and productive when commenting and posting on the City’s social media pages, and
notes that the following content is not permitted and may be subject to removal by the
City:
• Posts or comments that are off topic
• Posts or comments that contain obscene, inflammatory, unlawful, threatening,
harassing, illegal, or defamatory language towards any individual or entity
• Posts or comments that contain personally identifiable information (other than your
own name or username)
• Posts or comments that contain remarks that perpetuate discrimination on the
basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, or status with
regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual
orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state, or local laws
• Posts or comments that are defamatory or personal attacks
• Threats of violence directed to any person or organization
• Posts or comments that promote or endorse particular commercial services,
products, political organizations, campaigns, candidates, or ballot measures
• Posts, comments, or conduct in violation of any federal, state or local law
• Encouragement of illegal activity
• Content that infringes upon intellectual property
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The Social Media Policy presented tonight was drafted by the City Attorney’s Office and
found to be agreeable by the Rancho Palos Verdes Employees Association Board. If
approved, the policy will be implemented and posted on the City website and on all City
social media pages.
CONCLUSION:
Given the ongoing need for the City to implement a social media policy, Staff recommends
the City Council approve the Social Media Policy as drafted, or with revisions.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative actions are available for
the City Council’s consideration:
1. Do not approve the Social Media Policy.
2. Identify revisions to the Social Media Policy.
3. Take other action, as deemed appropriate.
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CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
1. Purpose
Recognizing that the internet has transformed the way individuals, companies, and
governments communicate and obtain information online, City departments are authorized to
utilize social media tools, consistent with this policy, to reach a broader audience of residents.
The purpose of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes’ Social Media sites (e.g., Instagram,
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google My Business, LinkedIn, etc.) is to provide content and
information to community members about City services, events and activities. Questions,
comments, and concerns from the public are welcome and encouraged on the City’s Social Media
sites; however, except as provided in Section _8 of this Policy, these social media sites are intended
to be established as limited public forums pursuant to applicable law.
The City’s Social Media sites are meant to further the goals of the City and the missions of
its departments. The City has an overriding interest and expectation in deciding what is posted on
City Social Media sites. This Social Media Policy establishes guidelines for City staff’s use of the
Social Media sites as a means of conveying information to and communicating with members of
the public and to set forth standards by which the public may comment/post on City Social Media
sites.
To promote respectful discussion, courtesy, respect, and the use of polite language is
encouraged.
2. Definitions
“Social Media” means content created by individuals, using accessible, expandable, and
upgradable publishing technologies, through and on the Internet.
“City Social Media” means Social Media owned, maintained, or operated by the City or a
City-affiliated entity and whose postings the City controls.
“Department” means a department or division of the City such as the Recreation, Parks,
and Open Space Department or the City Clerk Department.
“Department Head” means a City employee who is in charge of a Department such as the
Director of the Recreation, Parks, and Open Space Department.
“Employee” includes without limitation full-time and part-time employees, contractors,
contract workers, interns, and volunteers of the City.
“Social Media Coordinators” means City employees who have been appointed by the City
Manager or Department Heads and given authority to use social media on behalf of the City or
department and responsibility to ensure the appropriateness of content.
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“Social Media Provider” means a provider of a Social Media service, including but not
limited to, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blogs, RSS feeds, YouTube, Snapchat, LinkedIn,
Nextdoor, Google My Business, and Flickr.
“User” refers to a member of the public, or an Employee acting solely in their private
capacity, who view, use, or comment on City Social Media sites.
“Posts” or “Comments.” For purposes of this policy, the terms “posts” and “comments”
include information, articles, pictures, videos or any other form of communicative content posted
on a City Social Media site.
3. General Policy and Guidelines
3.1 The City’s official website (https://www.rpvca.gov/) will remain the City’s
primary and predominant internet presence.
3.2 The City’s intention is to use City Social Media sites for the sole purpose
of City business.
3.3 Except as provided in Section 8 of this Policy, all City Social Media sites
are limited public forums.
3.4 The City has an overriding interest and expectation in protecting the
integrity of the information posted on its social media sites and the content that is attributed to the
City or its officials.
3.5 The City Manager, Department Heads, and/or Social Media Coordinators
will monitor content on City Social Media sites to ensure adherence to this Social Media Policy.
3.6 The City Manager may, in his or her sole discretion, remove a City
employee’s status as a Social Media Coordinator at any time. Similarly, in relation to the
Department Head’s own Department, a Department Head may, in his or her sole discretion, remove
a City employee’s status as a Social Media Coordinator for their respective Department at any
time.
3.7 These guidelines must be displayed on the City's Social Media sites or made
available by hyperlink.
3.8 The City will approach the use of Social Media tools as consistently as
possible, enterprise-wide.
3.9 The intended purpose of City Social Media sites is to disseminate
information from the City about the City's mission, services, meetings, and current issues to
members of the public.
3.10 To promote respectful discussion, it is requested that Users be courteous
and productive.
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3.11 The City reserves the right to restrict or remove any content that is deemed
in violation of this Policy or applicable law. Additionally, comments on topics or issues not within
the jurisdictional purview of the City may be removed. Any content removed based on these
guidelines must be retained by the City for a reasonable period of time, including the time, date,
and identity of the poster, when available. The City further reserves the right, in its sole and
unfettered discretion, to discontinue any City Social Media site, or portion thereof, if it determines
such action is in the City’s best interest in meeting its goals of communicating with the community,
as technology and social media platforms change and evolve.
3.12 All City Social Media sites shall adhere to applicable federal, state, and
local laws, regulations, and policies, including without limitation the following:
a. City Social Media Sites shall be managed in a manner consistent
with the Ralph M. Brown Act, located at California Government Code Section 54950 et seq.
b. City Social Media sites are subject to the California Public Records
Act. Any content maintained in a Social Media format that is related to City business, including a
list of subscribers, posted communication, and communication submitted for posting, may be a
public record subject to public disclosure or subject to discovery under pending litigation.
c. City Social Media sites shall comply with usage rules and
regulations required by the site provider, including without limitation applicable privacy policies.
d. The City’s Social Media sites shall comply with any existing City’s
conflict of interest code, applicable ethics rules and related policies.
3.13 This Social Media Policy may be revised at any time in the City's sole and
absolute discretion.
4. Policies and Standards for City Social Media Sites
4.1 Establishment Guidelines
a. The establishment of any City Social Media site is subject to
approval of the City Manager. Upon approval, City Social Media sites shall bear the name and/or
the logo or seal of the City and contain a link back to the City’s official website
(https://www.rpvca.gov/).
b. All City Social Media sites shall utilize authorized City contact
information for account setup, monitoring and access. The use of personal email accounts or phone
numbers by any City employee is not allowed for the official purpose of setting up, monitoring, or
accessing a City Social Media Site.
c. City Social Media sites shall clearly state that such sites are
maintained by the City and that the sites comply with the City’s Social Media Policy, and such site
shall contain a link to this Social Media Policy.
d. Wherever possible, City Social Media sites should link back to the
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official City of Rancho Palos Verdes website for forms, documents, online services and other
information necessary to conduct business with the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
e. From time to time, a City Social Media account may receive a
private or direct message from members of the public. When responding to private or direct
messages to City Social Media accounts, responses to such messages shall be in compliance with
the City’s Administrative Instruction 8-07 (First Revision, March 6, 2001), as it may be amended
from time to time, to the extent that such administrative instruction applies to electronic mail (i.e.,
“email”).
f. The City’s Social Media Policy shall be displayed to users or made
available by hyperlink to the City’s website where the Social Media Policy will be posted.
4.2 Conduct of Department/Employees
a. While On-Duty
(i) City of Rancho Palos Verdes employees and designees
representing the City on City Social Media sites shall conduct themselves at all times as a
professional representative of the City and in accordance with all City policies , such as those
relating to City standards of appropriateness, style, and decorum.
b. While Off-Duty
(i) One of the primary purposes of an employee’s personal
social media account should not be to communicate City business. The only social media accounts
that have a primary purpose of communicating City business, on behalf of the City, should be the
authorized City Social Media accounts.
(ii) Employees who post on their personal social media accounts
content related to City business occasionally, and not as a primary purpose, to communicate to
their private or public followers, should do so in a way that aligns with City standards of
appropriateness, style, and decorum.
c. Not Intended to Improperly Restrict
(i) This policy is not intended to and will not be applied to
improperly restrict Employees from engaging in non-City social media conversations and postings
during non-City time, so long as these postings do not violate government policies intended to
prevent workplace discrimination, safety or harassment policies. Employees conducting social
networking discussions related to City business matters in off-City time shall indicate that
viewpoints are personal and do not necessarily reflect City opinion. Further, this Policy is not
intended to restrict Employee recognized free speech rights or interfere with their federally and
state protected concerted labor activities and this Policy shall not affect Employees’ right to act
with co-workers to address work-related issues. Examples of federally and state protected
concerted labor activities include: talking with one or more co-workers about wages and benefits
or other working conditions, circulating a petition asking for better hours, participating in a
concerted refusal to work in unsafe conditions, openly talking about pay and benefits, and joining
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with co-workers to talk directly to City management, to another government agency, or to the
media about problems in the workplace; however, this does not permit Employee(s) to post content
that the Employee(s) knows is false or is posted in reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of the
same, or the Employee(s) publicly disparages City products or services unrelated to wages, hours,
or conditions of employment.
(ii) Opportunity to Cure.
(1) If an Employee allegedly violates this Section 4.2(c),
the City may give notice to the Employee and the applicable Employee organization of such
alleged violation. This notice shall include (1) evidence of the alleged violation (e.g., a screenshot
of the alleged violation) and (2) a timeframe in which Employee may cure the alleged violation,
which shall be at least 7 days from the date of receipt of the notice by the Employee (“Cure
Period”).
(2) Prior to the end of the Cure Period, the Employee
may request in writing that the City and the applicable Employee organization review the alleged
violation. The applicable Employee organization may provide a representative to conduct this
review. If the City and Employee organization mutually agree that the Employee did not violate
this Section 4.2(c), then the Employee shall not be subject to discipline pursuant to the City’s code
of conduct policies. Otherwise, the Employee will be subject to discipline pursuant to the City’s
code of conduct policies.
(3) If the Employee does not cure the alleged violation
or request a review as provided above before the end of the Cure Period, then the Employee will
be subject to discipline pursuant to the City’s code of conduct policies.
(4) Notwithstanding the forgoing, this Section 4.2(c)(ii)
shall not apply where (1) misconduct is an immediate threat to public health and safety (including,
but not limited to, immediate bodily or other severe harm) or (2) misconduct is a clear violation of
law.
(iii) Failure by the City to monitor Employees for compliance
with this Section 4.2(c) shall not constitute any waiver by the City of Employees’ obligations to
comply with this Section 4.2(c).
d. If the City receives a Public Records Act request for content that is
posted on a private page regarding content that is potentially related to City business, the City may
ask the employee to provide the content. It is the employee’s responsibility to provide the content
if available. With that in mind, employees posting content related to City business on personal
accounts, should archive said content, according to the guidelines in this policy, before considering
deleting from their account for any reason. For the purposes of this Section 4.2(d), “potentially
related to City business” shall mean that the content relates in some substantive way to the conduct
of the public’s business; however, this does not include every piece of information the public may
find interesting. For example, communications that are primarily personal, containing no more
than incidental mentions of City business, generally will not constitute public records (e.g., content
showing that not all Employees enjoy the company of their colleagues, or hold them in high regard
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would not be a public record). Nevertheless, this Section 4.2(d) shall be interpreted in a manner
consistent with the holding in City of San Jose v. Superior Ct., 2 Cal. 5th 608 (2017) and its
progeny.
4.3 Content of City Social Media Sites
a. The City makes every attempt to ensure content is thoroughly
reviewed and approved before posting on City Social Media sites.
b. Social Media Coordinators may be appointed by the City Manager
or Department Heads and given authority to use social media on behalf of the department and
responsibility to ensure the appropriateness of content.
c. The content of City Social Media sites should only pertain to City-
sponsored or City-endorsed programs, services, and events. Content includes, but is not limited to,
narrative information, photographs, videos, and hyperlinks.
d. Content posted to the City’s Social Media sites must contain
hyperlinks directing users back to the City's official website for additional or more in-depth
information, forms, documents or online services necessary to conduct business with the City of
Rancho Palos Verdes, whenever possible.
e. The City shall have full permission or rights to any content posted
by the City, including photographs and videos.
f. Postings shall be made during normal business hours. After-hours
or weekend postings shall only be made in disaster/emergency situations or with approval of the
City Manager or his/her designee(s).
g. Any employee authorized to post items on any of the City’s Social
Media sites on behalf of the City shall not express his or her own personal views or concerns
through such postings. Instead, postings on any of the City’s Social Media sites by an authorized
City employee on behalf of the City shall only reflect authorized, accurate and timely content
consistent with City Council actions, City policy, the goal of disseminating information, and
providing municipal services to residents.
h. Postings must contain information that is freely available to the
public and not be confidential or privileged as defined by any City policy or state or federal law.
Sharing or posting content owned by others shall be performed in accordance with copyright, fair
use and established laws pertaining to materials owned by others. This includes, but is not limited
to, quotes, images, documents, links, etc.
i. Postings shall NOT contain any personal information, except for the
names and titles of employees whose job duties include being available for contact by the public
and the employee(s) authorized to post the information.
j. Under the authority of the City Manager, the City reserves the right
to remove content if deemed offensive or not within the Social Media Guidelines. Postings to City
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Social Media sites shall NOT contain any of the following:
(i) Comments that are not topically related to the particular
posting being commented upon;
(ii) Comments in support of, or opposition to, political
campaigns, candidates or ballot measures;
(iii) Profane language or content;
(iv) Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination
on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, or status with regard to
public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation, as well as any
other category protected by federal, state, or local laws;
(v) Sexual content or links to sexual content;
(vi) Solicitations of commerce or advertisements including
promotion or endorsement;
(vii) Conduct or encouragement of illegal activity;
(viii) Information that may tend to compromise the safety or
security of the public or public systems; or
(ix) Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other
party.
4.4 The City reserves the right to implement or remove any functionality of its
Social Media sites, when deemed appropriate by the City Manager or his/her designee. This
includes, but is not limited to, information, articles, pictures, videos or any other form of
communication that is posted on a City Social Media site.
4.5 Replies to comments on Facebook posts by the City Manager or his/her
designee, Department Heads, and Social Media Coordinators (as applicable) shall be timely and
limited to providing factual information that might clarify or answer resident questions, consistent
with existing protocols.
4.6 Except as expressly provided in this Policy, accessing any social media site
shall comply with all applicable City policies pertaining to communications and the use of the
internet by employees, including email content.
4.7 City Social Media pages shall not “like” any other comments or posts.
Additionally, City Social Media pages shall not share or re-post (e.g., “retweet”) any content
posted by another social media account without approval of the City Manager or his/her designee.
4.8 Violations of this Section 4 may subject employees to discipline pursuant
to the City’s code of conduct policies.
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5. Use of Social Media by Members of the City Council
Use of Social Media by Members of the City Council, City commissions, City committees,
and other City legislative bodies, shall comply with all applicable laws, including, without
limitation, the requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act (“Brown Act”). The requirements of the
Brown Act include, without limitation, Government Code Section 54952.2(b)(3), which currently
provides as follows:
“(1) A majority of the members of a legislative body shall not,
outside a meeting authorized by this chapter, use a series of
communications of any kind, directly or through intermediaries, to
discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item of business that is
within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not be construed as preventing an employee
or official of a local agency, from engaging in separate
conversations or communications outside of a meeting authorized
by this chapter with members of a legislative body in order to answer
questions or provide information regarding a matter that is within
the subject matter jurisdiction of the local agency, if that person does
not communicate to members of the legislative body the comments
or position of any other member or members of the legislative body.
(3)
(A) Paragraph (1) shall not be construed as preventing a
member of the legislative body from engaging in separate
conversations or communications on an internet-based social media
platform to answer questions, provide information to the public, or
to solicit information from the public regarding a matter that is
within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body
provided that a majority of the members of the legislative body do
not use the internet-based social media platform to discuss among
themselves business of a specific nature that is within the subject
matter jurisdiction of the legislative body. A member of the
legislative body shall not respond directly to any communication on
an internet-based social media platform regarding a matter that is
within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body that is
made, posted, or shared by any other member of the legislative body.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, all of the following
definitions shall apply:
(i) “Discuss among themselves” means
communications made, posted, or shared on an internet-
based social media platform between members of a
legislative body, including comments or use of digital icons
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that express reactions to communications made by other
members of the legislative body.
(ii) “Internet-based social media platform” means an
online service that is open and accessible to the public.
(iii) “Open and accessible to the public” means that
members of the general public have the ability to access and
participate, free of charge, in the social media platform
without the approval by the social media platform or a
person or entity other than the social media platform,
including any forum and chatroom, and cannot be blocked
from doing so, except when the internet-based social media
platform determines that an individual violated its protocols
or rules.”
6. Use of City Social Media by Members of the Public
6.1 SCOPE AND APPLICABILITY
This Section 6 shall only apply to members of the public who use the City’s Social Media
sites (i.e., “users” as defined above).
6.2 POST/COMMENT POLICY
Except for the City Social Media sites provided in Section 8 of this Policy, all City Social
Media sites shall conspicuously display to its users, or make available by a conspicuously
displayed hyperlink to its users, and all users shall comply with the following policy:
“Policy for Public Use of City Social Media Sites
For the purposes of this Policy, the terms “posts” and “comments” include
information, articles, pictures, videos or any other form of communicative content
posted on any City Social Media site.
By posting or commenting on the City of Rancho Palos Verdes’ Social Media sites,
you agree to the terms of use of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes’ Social Media
post/comment policy as provided herein.
1. As a public entity the City must abide by certain standards to serve all its
constituents in a civil and unbiased manner.
2. The intended purpose behind establishing City of Rancho Palos Verdes
Social Media sites is to disseminate information from the City, about the City, to
its citizens regarding City services, events and activities. The City has an overriding
interest and expectation in deciding what is posted on or communicated on behalf
of the City on City Social Media sites. Questions, comments, and concerns are
welcome and encouraged, but please note that this is a limited public forum.
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3. To promote respectful discussion within this forum, we request that you be
courteous and productive. By interacting with the City through any and all City
Social Media sites, you agree to abide by this policy.
4. Posts and comments including, but not limited to, any of the following
forms of content shall not be permitted on City of Rancho Palos Verdes Social
Media sites and are subject to removal and/or restriction by the City:
• Posts or comments that are off topic;
• Posts or comments that contain obscene, inflammatory, unlawful,
threatening, harassing, illegal, or defamatory language towards any individual or
entity;
• Posts or comments that contain personally identifiable information (other
than your own name or username). This refers to information that can be used to
distinguish or trace an individual's identity, either alone or when combined with
other personal or identifying information that is linked or linkable to a specific
individual. To protect your privacy, please do not share personal information;
• Posts or comments that contain remarks that perpetuate discrimination on
the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, or status with
regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual
orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state, or local laws;
• Posts or comments that are defamatory or personal attacks;
• Threats of violence directed to any person or organization;
• Posts or comments that promote or endorse particular commercial services,
products, political organizations, campaigns, candidates, or ballot measures;
• Posts, comments, or conduct in violation of any federal, state or local law;
• Encouragement of illegal activity;
• Content that infringes upon intellectual property.
5. A post or comment posted by a member of the public on any City of Rancho
Palos Verdes Social Media site is the opinion of the commentator or poster only,
and publication of a post or comment does not imply endorsement of, or agreement
by, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, nor do such posts or comments reflect the
opinions or policies of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
6. City Departments shall monitor their social media sites for posts and
comments in violation of this policy.
7. All posts and comments posted to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Google
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DRAFT
My Business, LinkedIn, or any other social media site are also bound by the
respective social media site’s specific use policy, and the City reserves the right to
report any violation of any other social media sites use policy with the intent of
taking appropriate and reasonable action.
9.By posting any content (e.g., a comment or post), a user agrees to indemnify
and hold harmless the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, its officials, officers and
employees, against any damages, losses, liabilities, judgements, causes of action,
costs or expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs) arising out of any
claim by a third party relating to any material that the user has posted on the City
of Rancho Palos Verdes’ Instagram, Facebook page, Twitter, Google My Business,
LinkedIn, or any other social media site.”
7.Public Records and Records Retention
City Social Media sites contain communications sent to or received by the City and its
employees, and such communications are therefore public records subject to Government Code §§
6250 et seq. and 34090 et seq. Further, these record retention requirements apply regardless of the
form of the record (for example, digital text, photos, audio, and video). Such public records shall
be preserved pursuant to the City’s records retention policy for the required retention period in a
format that preserves the integrity of the original record and is easily accessible.
8.City Social Media Sites that are not Public Forum
Certain City Social Media sites are established for the sole purpose of one-way
communication to members of the public. All City Social Media sites established on the following
social media platforms shall not be public forums and are established for the sole purpose of one-
way communication to members of the public:
•Nextdoor
As such, the City shall disable all post or comment functionality on such sites that would
allow any posting or commenting except by the City.
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-!Alt O! C,\t!i(HU-.:J:\
AUTHENTICATED
f\.ECTJl.ONI( LEGAL MATf.!tlAL
Assembly Bill No. 992
CHAPTER89
An act to amend, repeal, and add Section 54952.2 of the Government
Code, relating to local government.
[Approved by Governor September 18, 2020. Filed with
Secretary of State September 18, 2020.]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 992, Mullin. Open meetings: local agencies: social media.
The Ralph M. Brown Act generally requires that the meetings of
legislative bodies of local agencies be conducted openly. That act defines
"meeting" for purposes of the act and prohibits a majority of the members
of a legislative body, outside a meeting authorized by the act, from using a
series of communications of any kind to discuss, deliberate, or take action
on any item of business that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the
legislative body.
This bill would provide that, until January 1, 2026, the prohibition
described above does not prevent a member from engaging in separate
conversations or communications outside of a meeting authorized by this
act with any other person using an internet-based social media platfom1, as
defined, to answer questions, provide information to the public, or to solicit
information from the public regarding a matter that is within the subject
matter jurisdiction of the legislative body, provided that a majority of the
members do not use the internet-based social media platform to discuss
among themselves, as defined, business of a specific nature that is within
the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body, and that a member
shall not respond directly to any communication on an internet-based social
media platform regarding a matter that is within the subject matter
jurisdiction of the legislative body that is made, posted, or shared by any
other member of the legislative body.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the
right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public
officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest
protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of
ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of
public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that
amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and
contains findings demonstrating that the enactment fmihers the constitutional
requirements relating to this purpose.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
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The people of the State of Caltfornia do enact as.follows:
SECTION 1. Section 54952.2 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
54952.2. (a) As used in this chapter, "meeting" means any congregation
of a majority of the members of a legislative body at the same time and
location, including teleconference location as permitted by Section 54953,
to hear, discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item that is within the
subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body.
(b) ( 1) A majority of the members of a legislative body shall not, outside
a meeting authorized by this chapter, use a series of communications of any
kind, directly or through intermediaries, to discuss, deliberate, or take action
on any item of business that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the
legislative body.
(2) Paragraph ( 1) shall not be construed as preventing an employee or
official of a local agency, from engaging in separate conversations or
communications outside of a meeting authorized by this chapter with
members of a legislative body in order to answer questions or provide
information regarding a matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction
of the local agency, if that person does not communicate to members of the
legislative body the comments or position of any other member or members
of the legislative body.
(3) (A) Paragraph (1) shall not be construed as preventing a member of
the legislative body from engaging in separate conversations or
communications on an internet-based social media platfonn to answer
questions, provide infonnation to the public, or to solicit infonnation from
the public regarding a matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction
of the legislative body provided that a majority of the members of the
legislative body do not use the internet-based social media platform to
dis<.:uss among themselves business of a specific nature that is within the
subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body. A member of the
legislative body shall not respond directly to any communication on an
internet-based social media platform regarding a matter that is within the
subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body that is made, posted, or
shared by any other member of the legislative body.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, all of the following definitions shall
apply:
(i) "Discuss among themselves" means communications made, posted,
or shared on an internet-based social media platfonn between members of
a legislative body, including comments or use of digital icons that express
reactions to communications made by other members of the legislative body.
(ii) "Internet-based social media platform" means an online service that
is open and accessible to the public.
(iii) "Open and accessible to the public" means that members of the
general public have the ability to access and pa1iicipate, free of charge, in
the social media platform without the approval by the social media platform
or a person or entity other than the social media platform, including any
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forum and chatroom, and cannot be blocked from doing so, except when
the internet-based social media platform determines that an individual
violated its protocols or rules.
(c) Nothing in this section shall impose the requirements of this chapter
upon any of the following:
(I) Individual contacts or conversations between a member of a legislative
body and any other person that do not violate subdivision (b ).
(2) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at
a conference or similar gathering open to the public that involves a discussion
of issues of general interest to the public or to public agencies of the type
represented by the legislative body, provided that a majority of the members
do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled
program, business of a specified nature that is within the subject matter
jurisdiction of the local agency. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to
allow members of the public free admission to a conference or similar
gathering at which the organizers have required other participants or
registrants to pay fees or charges as a condition of attendance.
(3) The attendance ofa majority of the members ofa legislative body at
an open and publicized meeting organized to address a topic of local
community concern by a person or organization other than the local agency,
provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves,
other than as part of the scheduled program, business of a specific nature
that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the
local agency.
( 4) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at
an open and noticed meeting of another body of the local agency, or at an
open and noticed meeting of a legislative body of another local agency,
provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves,
other than as part of the scheduled meeting, business of a specific nature
that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the
local agency.
(5) The attendance ofa majority of the members ofa legislative body at
a purely social or ceremonial occasion, provided that a majority of the
members do not discuss among themselves business of a specific nature
that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the
local agency.
( 6) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at
an open and noticed meeting of a standing committee of that body, provided
that the members of the legislative body who are not members of the standing
committee attend only as observers.
(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January I, 2026, and as
of that date is repealed.
SEC. 2. Section 54952.2 is added to the Government Code, to read:
54952.2. (a) As used in this chapter, "meeting" means any congregation
of a majority of the members of a legislative body at the same time and
location, including teleconference location as permitted by Section 54953,
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Ch. 89 -4-
to hear, discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item that is within the
subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body.
(b) (1) A majority of the members ofa legislative body shall not, outside
a meeting authorized by this chapter, use a series of communications of any
kind, directly or through intermediaries, to discuss, deliberate, or take action
on any item of business that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the
legislative body.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not be construed as preventing an employee or
official of a local agency, from engaging in separate conversations or
communications outside of a meeting authorized by this chapter with
members of a legislative body in order to answer questions or provide
information regarding a matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction
of the local agency, if that person docs not communicate to members of the
legislative body the comments or position of any other member or members
of the legislative body.
(c) Nothing in this section shall impose the requirements of this chapter
upon any of the following:
( 1) Individual contacts or conversations between a member ofa legislative
body and any other person that do not violate subdivision (b ).
(2) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at
a conference or similar gathering open to the public that involves a discussion
of issues of general interest to the public or to public agencies of the type
represented by the legislative body, provided that a majority of the members
do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled
program, business of a specified nature that is within the subject matter
jurisdiction of the local agency. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to
allow members of the public free admission to a conference or similar
gathering at which the organizers have required other participants or
registrants to pay fees or charges as a condition of attendance.
(3) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at
an open and publicized meeting organized to address a topic of local
community concern by a person or organization other than the local agency,
provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves,
other than as part of the scheduled program, business of a specific nature
that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the
local agency.
(4) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at
an open and noticed meeting of another body of the local agency, or at an
open and noticed meeting of a legislative body of another local agency,
provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves,
other than as part of the scheduled meeting, business of a specific nature
that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the
local agency.
(5) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at
a purely social or ceremonial occasion, provided that a majority of the
members do not discuss among themselves business of a specific nature
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that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the
local agency.
( 6) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at
an open and noticed meeting ofa standing committee of that body, provided
that the members of the legislative body who are not members of the standing
committee attend only as observers.
(cl) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2026.
SEC. 3. The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 and Section
2 of this act, which amends and adds Section 54952.2 of the Government
Code, respectively, impose a limitation on the public's right of access to
the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies
within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution.
Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following
findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need
for protecting that interest:
The limitations on the people's right of access set forth in this act are
necessary to ensure the free flow of communications between members of
a legislative body of a local agency and the public, particularly on
internet-based social media platforms.
SEC. 4. The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 and Section
2 of this act, which amends and adds Section 54952.2 of the Government
Code, respectively, further, within the meaning of paragraph (7) of
subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution, the
purposes of that constitutional section as they relate to the right of public
access to the meetings of local public bodies or the writings oflocal public
officials and local agencies. Pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of
Section 3 of Article J of the California Constitution, the Legislature makes
the following findings:
This act is necessary to ensure the free flow of communications between
members of a legislative body of a local agency and the public, pmiicularly
on internet-based social media platforms.
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