City of Lakeland Social Media Policy

The City of Lakeland uses social media platforms under the handle @Lakelandgov as a public service to the community.  Social media allows the City of Lakeland to maintain open, professional, and responsive communications with members of the public and media, as well as to promote awareness of the City of Lakeland’s programs, policies, and services.  The City of Lakeland recognizes the value of social media as an immediate, accessible form of communication that encourages citizen interaction.

• Moderation of Third-Party Content

The City of Lakeland’s social media serves as a limited public forum, and all content published is subject to monitoring. User-generated posts will be rejected or removed when the content:

• is off-subject or out of context,
• contains obscenity or sexual content,
• contains personal identifying information or sensitive personal information,
• contains offensive terms that target protected classes, including sex, race, creed, religious affiliation, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability,
• is threatening, harassing, or discriminatory,
• incites or promotes violence or illegal activities,
• contains information that reasonably could compromise individual or public safety,
• advertises or promotes a commercial product, service, or entity, or
• promotes or endorses political campaigns or candidates.

Any comments that violate these guidelines may be removed by the City of Lakeland at its sole discretion and without warning or notice but will be retained for the applicable retention period. The City of Lakeland reserves the right to block access to its social media pages by any user who consistently violates these guidelines and may do so without warning or notice.

• Public Records Law

The City of Lakeland’s social media content is subject to disclosure under the Florida’s Public Records Act. Any content maintained in a social media format related to City of Lakeland business, including communication posted by the City of Lakeland and communication received from citizens, is a public record.

-          Disclaimers

Comments posted by others do not reflect the opinions or policies of the City of Lakeland.  Comments posted by City of Lakeland employees are not intended as official policy statements unless the employee is authorized to speak on behalf of the City. No endorsement of a commercial enterprise is intended by the inclusion of others’ comments on City websites or social media, reposting, liking, or interacting with another user, or the inclusion of a link to another’s page or website. The City of Lakeland makes no legal promises or representations regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in its social media content. Additionally, the City of Lakeland does not offer any express or implied warranty as to the fitness or use of this information.