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Date: 01/24/11 Revision: 08/17/17 Reviewed: 08/05/24 HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE CHAD CHRONISTER , SHERIFF STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE Number: GEN 122.07 Page: 1 of 3 SUBJECT: USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES BY SHERIFF’S OFFICE EMPLOYEES I. PURPOSE : Social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have quickly become part of many people’s lives. These sites can provide many benefits for their users, but the Sheriff ’s Office has cause for concern because of the speed at which sensitive information can be poste d online about the Sheriff’s Office and employees, and then transmitted across the Internet. The Sheriff’s Office understands that many employees may choose to utilize these sites outside of work and they may identify themselves as employees of the Sheriff’s Office. That being the case, it is important for the Sheriff’s Office to ensure that its employees take steps to protect themselves and the Sheriff’s Office reputation online. II. SCOPE : This procedure applies to all Sheriff’s Office personnel. III. DISCUSSIO N: The guidelines set forth in this procedure are designed to protect employees from inadvertently violating Sheriff’s Office policy, while protecting the reput ation of the Sheriff’s Office both online and off. Social networking sites such as blogs, wikis and other online forums (including: LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.) have become part of our daily lives. The Sheriff’s Office understands that many employees who use these sites to communicate with friends and family outside of work may decide to identify their employer as well as their position with the Sheriff’s Office . In order to protect the interests of the Sheriff ’s Office , protect employees from inadvertently disclosing sensitive investigative information or violating office policies, and ensure employees remain focused on their duties while at work, the Sher iff’s Office has established rules for employees when us ing any f orm of social networking site or technology. These guidelines were developed to support existing Sheriff’s Office policies that apply in the context of social networking use and apply to all employees at the Sheriff’s Office in other circumstances . IV. DEFINI TIONS: A. Internet - a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are lin ked by a broad array of electronic and optical networking technologies. B. Social Networking Site - A social network service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecti ng of social networks or social relations among people, e.g., who share interests and/or activities. A social network service essentially consists of a represe ntation of each user (often a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of additional services. Most social network services are web based and provide means for users to int eract ove r the internet , such as e-mail and instant messaging . GEN 122.07 08/17/17 Page 2 of 3 C. Blog - is a type of website or part of a website . Blogs are usually maintained by an individual w ith regul ar entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse - chronological order. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog . D. Wikis - is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used to create collaborative w iki websi tes, to power community websites, for personal note taking , in corporate intranets , and i n knowledge management systems. V. PROCEDURE: Sheriff’s Office employees who utilize the Internet and social networking sites are prohibited from: A. Posting any st atements or material about the Sheriff’s Office, its operations, and its current or former employees, that are obscene, defamatory, false, deceptive, misleading, profane, libelous, threatening, harassing, abusive, hateful, etc. B. Disclosing any confident ial infor mation related to Sheriff’s Office operations or investigations; or any information about members of the public obtained as a result of employment with the Sheriff’s Office, as well as any information disclosed to the Sheriff’s Office by a third party. C. Violating any laws, including intellectual property, copyrights, trademarks, state and/or federal laws. D. Posting a ny commentary on a social networking site that pertains to the Sheriff’s Office, without clear representation that the commenta ry is a personal opinion in such a way that no reasonable person would conclude that the commentary is representative of the Sheriff’s Office views, opinions, or position. E. Posting commentary on a social networking site that pertains to the Sheriff’s Office without clearly and conspicuously disclos ing the employment relationship between the employee and the Sheriff’s Office, and clearly indicat ing that the employee is not authorized to make statements on behalf of the