Social Media Terms for use by the Regional Chair

Introduction

We use our social media accounts as an alternative method of sharing content related to the Regional Chair and his role as the head of Regional Council. By following the Regional Chair's social media accounts (by "following", "liking" or "subscribing"), you can expect to see information about priorities, announcements and Niagara Region programs and services.

Because the servers of social media platforms are managed by a third party, our social media accounts are subject to downtime that may be out of our control. As such, we accept no responsibility for third-party platforms.

Privacy statement

For the most part, comments and messages posted to the Office of the Regional Chair's official social networking sites are considered transitory records and will not be kept as a permanent record.

In the event that comments and messages are transferred for use on other websites or communication media, users acknowledge and consent by their use of the Regional Chair's social networking sites that their comments or messages may become part of the public record and used in official documentation. It is in the discretion of the Regional Chair's office which comments will be archived or used.

It is not the intent of the Regional Chair's Office to collect any personal information when users participate on its social media websites other than what is volunteered. Comments and messages collected for the public record using social media will be treated like any other form of communication received by the Regional Chair's Office.

The Regional Chair's Office may monitor social networking content for factuality and appropriateness and will make reasonable efforts to ensure that content it posts is accurate at the time of posting. However, it is in the nature of social networking communications that accuracy and timeliness are not guaranteed and may not be reliable; as such, the user acknowledges that the Regional Chair's Office makes no such guarantees. As well, the Regional Chair is not responsible for the authenticity or suitability of content posted to the channel by others. Posted comments and images do not necessarily represent the views of the Regional Chair or Niagara Region.

Residents should not consider the social media channels of the Regional Chair's Office as an official form of correspondence from the Regional Chair. Residents are advised to contact to Regional Chair's Office through email, telephone or letter should they require a formal response.

The Office of the Regional Chair cannot and does not guarantee your privacy on 3rd party social networking websites as users are subject to the terms and conditions of the specific application. Users should review and agree to the 3rd party terms and conditions prior to participating.

The Office of the Regional Chair is not responsible for any losses or damages any user may suffer as a result of using 3rd party social networking websites; users participate at their own risk, for their own benefit and in so doing accept that they have no right of action against the Regional Chair or Niagara Region related to such use.

Comments and interactions

We welcome your comments on our social media content. We expect conversations to be respectful. You are responsible for everything that you submit, and all posted comments are in the public domain. Please keep your submissions relevant.

We may edit or remove any comments that:

  • Do not respect the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
  • Are racist, hateful, sexist, homophobic, slanderous, insulting or life-threatening
  • Make serious, unproven, unsupported, or inaccurate accusations against individuals or organizations
  • Are abusive, aggressive, coarse, explicit, vulgar, violent, obscene or pornographic
  • Make personal attacks and / or are defamatory
  • Encourage illegal activity
  • Are solicitations, advertisements, or endorsements of any financial, commercial or non-governmental agency
  • Are announcements from labour or political organizations
  • Aim to cause nuisance to the page administrator or other users, such as spam
  • Are not relevant to the discussion or are unintelligible

Users who do not respect the comment guidelines may be blocked without warning.

Links to third-party websites

Our social media accounts may post or display links or ads for websites that are not under our control. These links are provided solely for the convenience of users. The Regional Chair's Office is not responsible for the information found through these links or ads, nor does it endorse the sites or their content, unless otherwise specified.

If our social media accounts "follow," "favourite" "subscribe" or "retweet" another social media account, channel, page or site, it does not imply that we endorse it. Similarly, if we share, retweet, repost or link to content from another user, it does not imply that we endorse that user.

General disclaimer

We review comments daily but don't generally reply to them; we engage in conversations only when appropriate.

We generally moderate and reply Monday through Friday during regular business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time).

The views of participants commenting on these pages do not represent the views of the Regional Chair.

You participate at your own risk, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username and any information provided. To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, do not include personal information (such as phone numbers or email addresses) in the body of your comment.

If you have any questions about this commenting policy or how we apply it, contact us.

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