Social Media Policy Update - Staff Report

Executive Summary

In June 2023, Langford updated its Social Media Policy to prepare for launching the City’s first Facebook account. The account was opened in August 2023 as a tool to communicate City projects, events, business openings, media releases, advisories, and other City business with the public. Over the past year, City staff have encountered increased challenges with respect to monitoring the Facebook account and are recommending updates to the Policy to foster a safe and respectful information sharing process.

In addition to removing comments that directly violate the Policy, staff spend considerable time reviewing comments that do not breach the policy but could reasonably be harmful to residents and staff. This duty to monitor, evaluate, and remove comments in order to create a safe online environment requires staff to monitor the account outside of regular working hours. The public and staff are also reporting mental fatigue as many of the comments are offensive and unkind which can be challenging to read. This report details the Policy review process taken and sets out three options for Council’s consideration.

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Background

POL-0172-ADMIN titled “Social Media Policy,” was adopted by Council in June 2023. The Policy provides rules and guidelines for the use of the City of Langford’s official social media accounts and content related to the City of Langford by the public, employees and members of Council. Further, the Policy supports the City’s commitment to provide accurate, transparent, and publicly accessible information on City policies, programs, and services.

The intention of launching social media pages, and specifically the City Facebook page was to provide another avenue to inform the public about City business, such as events, openings, projects, media releases, and advisories. In general, social media has proven to be an effective resource for quickly sharing information with residents and other interested parties. However, over the past year, the Facebook account has become an outlet for unkind and inappropriate dialogue amongst members of the community. While the City encourages respectful debate and differing points of view, more commonly the conversations are verging on bullying. More frequently, threatening, racist, homophobic, or defamatory comments have to be deleted. Due to the increasing occurrence of inappropriate conversations, staff have been closely monitoring the Facebook page outside of office hours often late into the evening and all day and night on weekends. Monitoring is generally managed by the department manager with some outside support. Staff believe it is time to review and amend the Policy to ensure the page is a useful tool for sharing City information while respecting staff's personal time.

While it should be noted that there are not currently issues with other social media pages, staff recommend turning off commenting on all social media pages. As set out below, there are a multitude of options for the public to connect directly with staff and Council without having a need for social media commenting. Further, while there are currently no issues with other pages, there is no guarantee that this will continue to be the case.

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Commentary

Current Policy

POL-0172-ADMIN was adopted by Council in June 2023 and has not been amended since.

Since the City’s Facebook page was launched in summer of 2023, staff have noted the following challenges online that are not sufficiently covered within the existing Policy:

• Disrespectful and unproductive conversations occurring between residents in the comment sections of City Facebook page posts, resulting in the need for staff to monitor outside of office hours including evenings and weekends to uphold the Policy.
• A general decline in civility including but not limited to bullying, hateful, or intimidating comments on the City’s Facebook page, creating an unproductive and unkind online environment.
• Ability to share misinformation, which detracts from the intent of sharing City messaging and can cause confusion for the general public.

As a result, staff spend a significant amount of time intervening or removing comments entirely. With the current staffing levels, the need to constantly monitor social media accounts has become unmanageable. Staff believe that the proposed amendments to the Policy as outlined in this report and in Attachment 2 would eliminate this demand.

Staff believe the City’s social media accounts should serve solely as a tool that supports information sharing, not as a two-way engagement tool. Staff would like to note that there are multiple opportunities for the public to engage directly with the City:

• Through online surveys on LetsChatLangford.ca (an online engagement tool aimed at enhancing community involvement, on which the City has conducted 19 online projects since its inception).
• Attending a Council meeting in-person or on-line.
• Sending an email or letter to Council.
• Attending a public engagement event (which have taken place at different locations and have encompassed both community events and standalone sessions such as open houses, and most recently an ideas fair).
• Phoning or coming into City Hall.

Together, these on-line and in-person engagement opportunities have been healthy forums that provide meaningful opportunities for conversation and helpful feedback for staff.

Research

Since the Policy’s implementation in summer of 2023, staff have continued to compile and review Social Media policies from other jurisdictions. Through this research, staff were able to identify other communities experiencing similar declines in online civility and have opted to disable commenting on social media, including:

• City of Victoria
• City of Duncan
• City of Port Alberni
• District of Tofino
• City of Cranbrook
• City of Fernie

Staff wish to note that while amending the Policy to implement more stringent comment guidelines has been utilized by other jurisdictions, this amendment will continue to result in staff spending a considerable amount of time reading, evaluating, monitoring, and deleting comments and posts. Removing the ability to leave a comment will not require additional staff time online.

Proposed Policy Updates

Staff have drafted an update to POL-0172-ADMIN (see attached) for Council consideration to eliminate public commenting on all City social media pages. All sections related to public commenting have been amended or deleted as the context requires.

The policy itself has been placed into the current policy template that meets the brand standards and enhance accessibility.

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Financial Implications

Removing the ability to comment on all City social media platforms, will save considerable staff time. Similarly, this proposed amendment will alleviate the need for staff to work on evenings, weekends, and statutory holidays to monitor, evaluate, and remove posts and comments. As mentioned above, additional guidelines may increase civility but will require the same amount of staff time to maintain a safe environment online. Additional staff capacity will be required to maintain this level of review should staff continue to experience objectionable comments online.

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Legal Implications

There are no legal implications associated with this report.

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Strategic Plan Alignment

5 – Good Governance
5g – Maintain the City’s Long-Standing Corporate Efficiencies

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Options

Option 1
THAT Council approve POL-0172-ADMIN “Social Media Policy” Amendment No. 1 as presented.

OR Option 2
THAT Council direct Staff to close the City’s Facebook account.

OR Option 3
THAT Council take no action regarding POL-0172-ADMIN “Social Media Policy” at this time.

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Submitted By

Donna Petrie, Senior Manager of Communications & Economic Development

Concurrence

• Melisa Miles, Manager of Legislative Services
• Donna Petrie, Senior Manager of Communications & Economic Development
• Yari Nielsen, Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities
• Matthew Baldwin, RPP, MCIP, Director of Development Services
• Leah Stohmann, RPP, MCIP, Director of Community Planning and Climate Change
• Katelyn Balzer, P.Eng., Director of Engineering and Public Works
• Michael Dillabaugh, CPA, CA, Director of Finance
• Marie Watmough, Director of Legislative & Protective Services
• Braden Hutchins, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer
• Darren Kiedyk, Chief Administrative Officer

Attachments

• Attachment 1 – Current POL-0172-ADMIN “Social Media Policy”
• Attachment 2 – POL-0172-ADMIN “Social Media Policy” Redline Copy
• Attachment 3 – Proposed POL-0172-ADMIN “Social Media Policy” Amendment #1

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Attachment 1 – Current POL-0172-ADMIN “Social Media Policy”

Policy Name

Social Media Policy
DEPARTMENT: Administration
SP Governance/Corporate Policy and Planning/Policies and Procedures
POLICY NO: POL-0172-Admin

City of Langford Social Media Policy

Contents

1.0 Purpose
2.0 Public Social Media Use
2.1 Terms of Use
2.2 Personal Information and Privacy
3.0 Employee Social Media Use
3.1 Corporate Use
Voice and Tone
Accessibility Considerations
Election Periods
3.2 Personal Use
4.0 Use of Social Media by Members of Council

1.0 Purpose

This Social Media Policy provides rules and guidelines for the use of social media by the public, employees and members of Council related to the City of Langford's official social media accounts and content related to the City of Langford. Social media includes any online platform or application that enables users to create, share, or exchange information and content on social media platforms including but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Let's Chat Langford (Granicus software).

This Policy is intended to support City staff and Council in the effective and responsible use of social media for their work and to ensure the City of Langford's official social media accounts provide accurate, transparent, and publicly accessible information on City policies, programs and services.

As the City of Langford can only recommend that employees and members of Council use best practices for communication on their personal social media accounts, Sections 3.2 and 4.0 should be considered guidelines rather than requirements.

For questions or concerns regarding the City of Langford's social media activity and/or this Social Media Policy, please contact social@langford.ca.

2.0 Public Social Media Use

2.1 Terms of Use

The City of Langford social media accounts serve to inform residents and visitors about City programs and services, career opportunities and to promote events in Langford. These social media channels are intended to encourage positive dialogue and provide citizens with a way to access information about their community.

To enforce respectful, safe and constructive discussion on all City social media platforms, the City reserves the right to delete comments, messages and posts that include:

• Violent, obscene, profane, hate-based, or racist posts, links or images.
• Comments that threaten or defame any person, group or organization.
• Personal, sensitive, or confidential information about any person (ex. addresses, phone numbers, email addresses or other information).
• Solicitations, commercial endorsements or advertisements.
• Comments that suggest or encourage illegal activity, including material that violates copyright or trademark law.
• Promotion of political candidates.
• Comments that violate the Terms of Service of the social media platform.

Violating these Terms of Use may also result in the removal of access to the site. The City of Langford is not responsible for the conduct of other social media users, nor material posted by users who interact with the City on social media.

2.2 Personal Information and Privacy

By engaging with the City of Langford's social media platform, you acknowledge and agree that you are providing your informed consent to the disclosure of any personal information you provide, including your image, on a public social media platform (in accordance with the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act [FOIPPA]). Any information collected via social media, including your image, may be stored and/or accessed outside of Canada on servers not belonging to the City. To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not share any personal information, including phone numbers and email addresses.

The personal information you post may be collected by the City of Langford under s. 26 (c) of FOIPPA for the purposes of engaging with the public, including promoting the City. For more information about the collection, use or disclosure of personal information via social media, contact the City at social@langford.ca or 250-478-7882.

3.0 Employee Social Media Use

The City of Langford recognizes the value of social media as a tool for conducting business and encourages its appropriate use by City staff. Social media can facilitate information sharing, timely communication and collaborative dialogue with residents, and offer accessible opportunities to engage community members.

3.1 Corporate Use

When using social media for City purposes, employees must adhere to the same standards of conduct as they would in any other work situation, such as a meeting, conference, or public event. These rules and guidelines dictate the appropriate use of the City of Langford's official social media accounts, including:

• Instagram: @cityoflangford
• LinkedIn: City of Langford

Official City of Langford social media accounts may only be posted on and managed by designated social media spokespersons who have received training in appropriate use of public communications channels. Employees wishing to provide content for the official social media channels should email social@langford.ca. The City's social media accounts are monitored during business hours (8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday through Sunday). Departments must obtain approval from the Chief Administrative Officer before launching new social media accounts or platforms.

Voice & Tone

Designated employees who are posting to and moderating the City's official social media accounts should strive to provide accurate, transparent, and accessible information. This includes:

• Being polite, respectful, and positive.
• Checking for spelling and grammatical errors.
• Protecting their personal information and the personal information of any other staff or residents.
• Confirming the accuracy of responses to questions with the appropriate program or services staff.
• Responding to appropriate comments and questions promptly.
• Ensuring permissions: graphics must not contain copyrighted photos or photos without the express consent of the photographer and the person or guardian of a minor depicted.

Accessibility Considerations

As a prescribed organization under the Accessible British Columbia Act, the City of Langford's social media accounts must abide by the following guidelines to ensure information posted is accessible to all residents and visitors:

• AltText: Alt Text, also called alternative text or image descriptions, should be added to all photos and graphics posted on social media accounts.
• Plain Language: Social media posts should be written in short, direct sentences with easy-to understand words.
• Captioning: All videos should include captions or subtitles that describe the audio in the video.
• Design: Graphics should include high contrast between text and graphic elements, and use simple fonts with clear separation between letters.

Election Periods

During the pre-campaign period and campaign period of a municipal election, the City of Langford official social media accounts will remain neutral, sharing only procedural information.

The City of Langford official social media accounts will not post content that could constitute or be perceived as constituting election advertising in favour of any candidate.

3.2 Personal Use

Employees should be aware of their position as civil servants and representatives of the City of Langford in public spaces, including on social media. The City of Langford expects employees to conduct themselves in a way that maintains and enhances the public's trust and confidence.

Employees must conduct themselves in a way that separates their personal and professional use of social media and must avoid all conflicts of interest, real or perceived. To help distinguish personal and professional opinions, employees are recommended to include a statement in their bio that makes it clear that the views expressed on their personal social media accounts do not reflect the official views of the City of Langford.

Employees should consider the following in their personal social media use:

• City authorization is required before posting City-owned logos, photographs, graphics or other media.
• Do not place yourself in a conflict of interest by revealing confidential or privileged City information.
• Do not comment on or identify other City employees without their consent.
• All employees must abide by the Respectful Workplace Policy, Confidential Information Policy, Employee Bylaw and other applicable City policies that govern behavior.

The City recognizes that employees are proud of the work they do and encourages them to share posts from the City of Langford's official social media accounts to celebrate organizational achievements and raise community awareness of programs and services.

4.0 Use of Social Media by Members of Council

As elected officials, Council members retain the right to manage and maintain their personal social media accounts and post as private citizens. However, as representatives of the City of Langford Council, members are encouraged to post on social media in a way that reflects positively on Council and the City as a whole.

Guidelines for personal social media use include:

• Serving constituents by providing accurate and timely information about Council decisions and City services and programs.
• Behaving in accordance with the Council Code of Conduct Policy, Confidential Information Policy, and the Respectful Workplace Policy.
• Refraining from posting content on social media during confidential meetings, including Council or committee meetings considering in camera items.
• Not responding to service requests directly — instead referring individuals to the proper City channels.
• Developing a personal policy regarding the removal of threating, discriminatory, hate-based or harassing comments or messages, and blocking individuals that make these comments.
• Not using City resources or materials for personal, re-election or campaign purposes.

Council members are advised to avoid engaging in emotion-driven conversations on social media and in other online spaces. If citizens have concerns or questions, Council is advised to address them directly by arranging a meeting or phone call, or directing citizens to the appropriate City department which is often more effective.

Adopted by Council
Meeting Date: June 19, 2023

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Attachment 3 – POL-0172-ADMIN “Social Media Policy” Amendment #1

CITY OF LANGFORD SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
Council Policy: POL-0172 - ADMIN
Amendment # 1
Original Policy: June 2023
Amended: 2025

1. PURPOSE

This Social Media Policy provides rules and guidelines for the use of social media by the public, employees and members of Council related to the City of Langford’s official social media accounts and content related to the City of Langford. Social media includes any online platform or application that enables users to create, share, or exchange information and content on social media platforms including but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Let’s Chat Langford (Granicus software).

This Policy is intended to support City staff and Council in the effective and responsible use of social media for their work and to ensure the City of Langford’s official social media accounts provide accurate, transparent, and publicly accessible information on City policies, programs and services.

As the City of Langford can only recommend that employees and members of Council use best practices for communication on their personal social media accounts, Sections 3.2 and 4.0 should be considered guidelines rather than requirements. For questions or concerns regarding the City of Langford’s social media activity and/or this Social Media Policy, please contact social@langford.ca.

2. PUBLIC SOCIAL MEDIA USE

2.1. Terms of Use

The City of Langford social media accounts serve to inform residents and visitors about City programs and services, career opportunities, events and other City related business and to promote events in Langford. These social media channels are intended to encourage positive dialogue and provide citizens with a way to access information about their community.

To enforce respectful, safe and constructive discussion on all City social media platforms, the City reserves the right to delete comments, messages and posts on platforms that allow commenting that include:

• Violent, obscene, profane, hate-based, or racist, or otherwise objectionable posts, links or images.
• Comments that threaten, intimidate, or defame any person, group or organization.
• Comments that are perceived as unkind or bullying.
• Personal, sensitive, or confidential information about any person (ex. addresses, phone numbers, email addresses or other information).
• Solicitations, commercial endorsements or advertisements.
• Comments that suggest or encourage illegal activity, including material that violates copyright or trademark law.
• Comments that are inaccurate.
• Promotion of political candidates.
• Comments that violate the Terms of Service of the social media platform.

Violating these Terms of Use may also result in the removal of access to the site. The City of Langford is not responsible for the conduct of other social media users, nor material posted by users who interact with the City on social media. The City reserves the right to hide or remove posts that are deemed inappropriate. To protect both the public and staff and maintain a safe and respectful space, public comments are disabled on the City’s Facebook page.

2.2. Personal Information and Privacy

By engaging with the City of Langford’s social media platform, you acknowledge and agree that you are providing your informed consent to the disclosure of any personal information you provide, including your image, on a public social media platform (in accordance with the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act [FOIPPA]). Any information collected via social media, including your image, may be stored and/or accessed outside of Canada on servers not belonging to the City. To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not share any personal information, including phone numbers and email addresses.

The personal information you post may be collected by the City of Langford under s. 26 (c) of FOIPPA for the purposes of engaging with the public, including promoting the City. For more information about the collection, use or disclosure of personal information via social media, contact the City at social@langford.ca or 250-478-7882.

3.0 EMPLOYEE SOCIAL MEDIA USE

The City of Langford recognizes the value of social media as a tool for conducting business and encourages its appropriate use by City staff. Social media can facilitate information sharing, and timely communication and collaborative dialogue with residents, and offer accessible opportunities to engage community members.

3.1. Corporate Use

When using social media for City purposes, employees must adhere to the same standards of conduct as they would in any other work situation, such as a meeting, conference, or public event. These rules and guidelines dictate the appropriate use of the City of Langford’s official social media accounts, including:

• Instagram: @cityoflangford
• LinkedIn: City of Langford
• Facebook: facebook.com/CityofLangford

Official City of Langford social media accounts may only be posted on and managed by designated social media spokespersons who have received training in appropriate use of public communications channels. Employees wishing to provide content for the official social media channels should email social@langford.ca. The City’s social media accounts are monitored during business hours (8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday through Sunday). Departments must obtain approval from the Chief Administrative Officer before launching new social media accounts or platforms.

3.1.1. Voice and Tone

Designated employees who are posting to and moderating the City’s official social media accounts should strive to provide accurate, transparent, and accessible information. This includes:

• Being polite, respectful, and positive.
• Checking for spelling and grammatical errors.
• Protecting their personal information and the personal information of any other staff or residents.
• Confirming the accuracy of responses to questions with the appropriate program or services staff.
• Responding to appropriate comments and questions promptly.
• Ensuring permissions: graphics must not contain copyrighted photos or photos without the express consent of the photographer and the person or guardian of a minor depicted.

3.1.2. Accessibility Considerations

As a prescribed organization under the Accessible British Columbia Act, the City of Langford’s social media accounts must abide by the following guidelines to ensure information posted is accessible to all residents and visitors:

• AltText: Alt Text, also called alternative text or image descriptions, should be added to all photos and graphics posted on social media accounts.
• Plain Language: Social media posts should be written in short, direct sentences with easy-to understand words.
• Captioning: All videos should include captions or subtitles that describe the audio in the video.
• Design: Graphics should include high contrast between text and graphic elements, and use simple fonts with clear separation between letters.

3.1.3. Election Periods

During the pre-campaign period and campaign period of a municipal election, the City of Langford official social media accounts will remain neutral, sharing only procedural information.

The City of Langford official social media accounts will not post content that could constitute or be perceived as constituting election advertising in favour of any candidate.

3.2 Personal Use

Employees should be aware of their position as civil servants and representatives of the City of Langford in public spaces, including on social media. The City of Langford expects employees to conduct themselves in a way that maintains and enhances the public’s trust and confidence.

Employees must conduct themselves in a way that separates their personal and professional use of social media and must avoid all conflicts of interest, real or perceived. To help distinguish personal and professional opinions, employees are recommended to include a statement in their bio that makes it clear that the views expressed on their personal social media accounts do not reflect the official views of the City of Langford.

Employees should consider the following in their personal social media use:

• City authorization is required before posting City-owned logos, photographs, graphics or other media.
• Do not place yourself in a conflict of interest by revealing confidential or privileged City information.
• Do not comment on or identify other City employees without their consent.
• All employees must abide by the Respectful Workplace Policy, Confidential Information Policy, Employee Bylaw and other applicable City policies that govern behavior.

The City recognizes that employees are proud of the work they do and encourages them to share posts from the City of Langford’s official social media accounts to celebrate organizational achievements and raise community awareness of programs and services.

4.0 USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA BY MEMBERS OF COUNCIL

As elected officials, Council members retain the right to manage and maintain their personal social media accounts and post as private citizens. However, as representatives of the City of Langford Council, members are encouraged to post on social media in a way that reflects positively on Council and the City as a whole.

Guidelines for personal social media use include:

• Serving constituents by providing accurate and timely information about Council decisions and City services and programs.
• Behaving in accordance with the Council Code of Conduct Policy, Confidential Information Policy, and the Respectful Workplace Policy.
• Refraining from posting content on social media during confidential meetings, including Council or committee meetings considering in camera items.
• Not responding to service requests directly – instead referring individuals to the proper City channels.
• Developing a personal policy regarding the removal of threating, discriminatory, hate-based or harassing comments or messages, and blocking individuals that make these comments.
• Not using City resources or materials for personal, re-election or campaign purposes.

Council members are advised to avoid engaging in emotion-driven conversations on social media and in other online spaces. If citizens have concerns or questions, Council is advised to address them directly by arranging a meeting or phone call, or directing citizens to the appropriate City department which is often more effective.

Adopted by Council

CERTIFIED CORRECT

ADMINISTRATOR DATE: