Privacy Policy and Disclaimer

Any individual accessing, browsing and using a City of Kennewick Social Media site accepts without limitation or qualification, the City's Social Media Policies (hereafter "Policies"). These terms and conditions apply only to the Social Media sites (defined here as third party hosted online technologies that facilitate social interaction and dialogue, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube) that are managed by the City of Kennewick. The City of Kennewick maintains the right to modify these Policies without notice. Any modification is effective immediately upon posting the modification on the Social Media Policy page unless otherwise stated. Continued use of a City of Kennewick Social Media site following the posting of any modification signifies acceptance of such modification. All users of a City of Kennewick Social Media site are also subject to the site’s own Privacy Policy. The City of Kennewick has no control over a third party site’s privacy policy or their modifications to it. The City of Kennewick also has no control over content, commercial advertisements or other postings produced by the Social Media site that appear on the City of Kennewick Social Media site as part of the site’s environment. The City of Kennewick operates and maintains its Social Media sites as a public service to provide information about City programs, services, projects, issues, events and activities. The City of Kennewick assumes no liability for any inaccuracies these Social Media sites may contain and does not guarantee that the Social Media sites will be uninterrupted, permanent or error‐free.

Posting Policy

Although posts and comments are encouraged on the City of Kennewick Social Media sites that allow posts, these sites are limited public forums and are moderated by City staff. All posted content (comments, photos, links, etc) must be related to discussion of City programs, services, projects, issues, events and activities.

The following are prohibited on City of Kennewick Social Media sites:

• Comments not topically related to City programs, services, projects, issues, events and activities, or the particular post being commented upon 
• Posts and comments that promote or advertise commercial services, entities or products except as determined by the City Manager to be essential to economic development
• Political statements, including comments that endorse or oppose political candidates or ballot propositions, are prohibited under state law (RCW 42.52.180)
• Religious statements, including comments that endorse or oppose any type of religious opinions or activities
• Posts and comments that promote, foster or perpetuate discrimination on the basis of creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation
• Posts and comments that include vulgar, offensive, threatening or harassing language, personal attacks or unsupported accusations
• Obscene or sexual content or links to obscene or sexual content Illegal activity 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 City of Kennewick reserves the right to remove posted content that does not comply with these Policies. All posts and comments uploaded to City of Kennewick Social Media sites that allow posts will be periodically reviewed. All posts and comments are public records subject to
public disclosure under the Public Records Act.

Communications made through City of Kennewick Social Media sites in no way constitute a legal or official notice or comment to the City of Kennewick. (For example, a post or comment that asks for public records will not be considered a public records request under RCW 42.56.)
To comment about a specific City project or program, please contact the appropriate department.

Links and Embedded Content Policy

Links to other Social Media and/or External Websites Provided on City Social Media Sites

 
The City of Kennewick may select links to other Social Media sites and outside websites that offer helpful resources for users. Once an individual links to another page or site, the City's Policies no longer apply and you become subject to the policies of that page or site. The City of Kennewick's Social Media sites are intended specifically to share information about City programs, events and services. The City of Kennewick is not responsible for the content that appears on these outside links and provides these links as a convenience only. Users should be aware that these external pages and sites and the information found on those pages and sites are not controlled by, provided by or endorsed by the City of Kennewick. The City reserves the right to delete links posted by outside individuals that violate the City’s Posts Policy at any time without notice. 

Links by Other Entities to City Social Media Sites

It is not necessary to get advance permission to link to City of Kennewick Social Media sites; however, entities and individuals linking to City of Kennewick Social Media sites should not in any way suggest that the City of Kennewick has any relationship or affiliation with that
organization or that the City endorses, sponsors or recommends the information, products or services of that site.

Embedded content from City Social Media Sites on other sites

It is not necessary to get advance permission to embed City of Kennewick Social Media site content; however, entities and individuals embedding content must not present City of Kennewick content as their own or otherwise misrepresent any of the City’s Social Media site
content. Furthermore, they shall not misinform users about the origin or ownership of City of Kennewick Social Media site content. Embedded content from City of Kennewick Social Media sites should not in any way suggest that the City of Kennewick has any relationship or affiliation
with that organization or that the City endorses, sponsors or recommends the information, products or services of that site. 

Copyright Policy

All information and materials generated by the City of Kennewick and provided on City of Kennewick Social Media sites are the property of the City of Kennewick. The City retains copyright on all text, graphic images and other content that was produced by the City of Kennewick and found on the page. You may print copies of information and material for your own non‐commercial use, provided that you retain the copyright symbol or other such proprietary notice intact on any copyrighted materials you copy. Please include a credit line reading: "credit: City of Kennewick Facebook (or Twitter or YouTube) Page" or "Courtesy of City of Kennewick."

Commercial use of text, City logos, photos and other graphics is prohibited without the express written permission of the City of Kennewick. Use of the City logo is prohibited for any non‐governmental purpose. Any person reproducing or redistributing a third party copyright must
adhere to the terms and conditions of the third party copyright holder. If you are a copyright holder and you feel that the City of Kennewick did not use an appropriate credit line please notify the Director of Management Services with detailed information about the circumstances, so that the copyright information can be added or the material in question can be removed.