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Social Media Policy

Approved 1/7/2026

Introduction

The Selectboard’s mission is to encourage the community to share, connect and discover all that the Town has to offer. The Town embraces social media as a forum to educate, increase access to Town services, encourage community engagement and community awareness.  Social media provides an effective real-time means of information transmission.

The Town currently permits departments and committees to utilize the Town Website and the Town’s Nextdoor presence to enhance communications with its residents and various stakeholders in support of Town goals and objectives. Town officials, departments and committees have the ability to communicate information through such media to conduct official Town business.

This policy covers several topics:

  • Guidelines for using social media for official Town purposes
  • Laws that must be followed
  • How the Town, Departments, and Committees use Town social media
  • How employees (including committee members) use Town and non-Town social media

The Town will move from using Nextdoor to using Facebook for communicating with residents via social media:

  • These communications shall continue to include updates and information regarding Town-sponsored events, activities and initiatives
  • The Town will begin to allow comments and discussion on some, but not all, of their Facebook posts.
  • In keeping with the law (see #5 under Adherence to Laws), if comments are not to be allowed, they will be turned off immediately upon posting. Once a comment has been made, comments will not be turned off.

Guidelines for Town Social Media Sites

  • All Town social media sites shall be approved by the Town Administrator
  • All sites much be published using social media platform, format, “look and feel” and tools approved by the Town Administrator or a delegate
  • All postings for the Town will be done by the Town Clerk or a designee of the Town Administrator.
  • Each Town social media site shall include an introductory statement which clearly specifies the purpose and topical scope of the site. Where possible, social media sites should link back to the official Town of Princeton website for forms, documents and other information.
  • Each Town social media site shall indicate to users that the site is subject to a third party’s website Terms of Service. Furthermore, each Town social media site shall indicate that: the social media site provider could collect personal information through user’s use of the social media site; and that this personal information may be disseminated by the third party; and that such dissemination may not be governed or limited by any state, federal or local law or policy applicable to the Town.
  • All social media sites shall clearly indicate they are maintained by the Town of Princeton and shall have the Town of Princeton contact information prominently displayed.
  • The Town will not use social media to advertise or promote private business, not-for-profit organizations or other non-municipal entities unless the Town administration has a role in planning, permitting, licensing, project implementation or activities related to the non-municipal entity.

Adherence to Laws

  1. All Town social media sites shall adhere to applicable state, federal and local laws, regulations and policies including the Public Records Law, Public Records retention schedules, Open Meeting Law, ADA digital accessibility laws, Copyright Law and other applicable Town policies.
  2. Public Records Law and e-discovery laws and policies apply to social media content. Accordingly, such content shall be managed, stored and retrieved to comply with these laws. Note that the third-party operator of the site (Facebook, for example) should not be relied upon to retain such content indefinitely. Furthermore, once such content is posted on a social media site, it should stay posted, unless it is removed for one of the reasons set forth below in items 4 or 5, or it is changed to fix spelling or grammar errors.
  3. All social media sites shall clearly indicate that any content posted or submitted is subject to public disclosure.
  4. The Town reserves the right to restrict or remove any content that is deemed in violation of this policy or any applicable law.
  5. Town social media content and comments containing any of the following forms of content shall not be allowed for posting:
    • Comments or content not topically related to the particular site or post being commented upon;
    • Profane, obscene, or vulgar language or content; Comments or content that promotes, fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, gender identity, national origin, religion, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, disability, maternity leave, genetic information, or active military status;
    • Comments or content that is threatening or harassing;
    • Sexual comments, content, or links to sexual content;
    • Conduct 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;
    • Protected health information
    • Personal information; or
    • Other information that is not public record or is otherwise privileged from public disclosure
    • Defamatory statements and so-called “fighting words”
  6. All Town social media moderators shall be trained regarding the terms of this policy, including their responsibilities to review content submitted for posting to ensure compliance with the policy.
  7. Officials (elected or appointed) and employees representing the Town via social media sites must conduct themselves at all times as a representative of the Town and in accordance with all applicable rules, regulations, and policies (including personnel policies) of the Town of Princeton.
  8. No Town, department or committee social media site can endorse or otherwise cite (either with approval or disapproval) vendors, suppliers, or clients
  9. No Town, department or committee social media site can endorse candidates for pubic office
  10. No Town, department or committee social media site can cite with disapproval citizens, co-workers or other stakeholders. Citations of Town employees for good service are allowed.
  11. Employees found in violation of this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

Employee Guidelines for Use of Social Media

Electronic Communications and Computer Usage Policy

All employees are responsible for understanding and following the Town’s Electronic Communications and Computer Usage Policy, in addition to this Policy.

First Amendment Protected Speech

Employees cannot use the moderation function to restrict speech with which the Town merely disagrees (i.e. subject matter restrictions). Users have some First Amendment rights in posting content to public social media sites hosted by municipalities. Moderators/Administrators must respect those rights by posting/allowing all comments other than those excluded for specific legitimate reasons, as referenced above.

Protect Confidential Information

  • Never post legally protected personal information that you have obtained from the Town (e.g., information that is not public record under the Public Records Law, G.L. c.66, §10 and G.L. c. 4, §7(26), or whose dissemination is restricted under applicable Federal or State privacy laws or regulations).
  • Ask permission to publish or report on conversations that occur within the Town. Never post information about policies or plans that have not been made final by the Town, unless you have received explicit permission from your supervisor to post draft policies or plans on the department’s social media sites for public comment. In such cases it must be made clear that these are draft policies or plans posted for public information and comment.

Consider Your Content

As informal as social media sites are meant to be, if they are on a government domain or a government identity, they are official government communications. Social media sites will be sought out by mainstream media – so a great deal of thought needs to go into how you will use the social media in a way that benefits both the Town and the public. Employees should not comment about rumors, political disputes, or personnel issues, for example. Any post discussing an event or incident in Town should take into consideration the privacy of individuals or families identified in the post by name or location.

Handling Negative Comments

Because the purpose of many social media sites is to get feedback from the public, you should expect that some of the feedback you receive will be negative. Some effective ways to respond to negative comments include:

  • Providing accurate information in the spirit of being helpful;
  • Respectfully disagreeing; and
  • Acknowledging that it is possible to hold different points of view.

Mistakes

The Town policy is that once something is posted, it should stay posted. Only spelling errors or grammar fixes should be made without making the change evident to users. If you choose to modify an earlier post, make it clear that you have done so—do not remove or delete the incorrect content; provide the correct information and apologize for the error. Ways to accomplish this include:

  • Strike through the error and correct; or
  • Create a new post with the correct information and link to it from the post you need to correct or clarify

Personal Comments

Make it clear when you are speaking for yourself as a resident or stakeholder, and not on behalf of the Town. If you publish content on any website (or anywhere else) and it has something to do with the work you do or subjects associated with the Town, use a disclaimer such as this: “The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent the Town’s positions or opinions.”

Employee Conduct and Official Profile

If you identify yourself as a Town employee or official, ensure your social media profile and related content is consistent with how you wish to present yourself to colleagues, residents and other stakeholders.  Town employees should be aware that in a small town such as Princeton, most residents will recognize you as a Town employee. Town employees should at all times through their public conduct, actions and speech reinforce the residents’ feeling of confidence, trust in, and professionalism of the Town.

Open Meeting Law

Be aware of the Open Meeting Law and possible violations for improper deliberations outside of a posted meeting. A series of individual postings on a social media site cumulatively may convey the position of a quorum of a governmental body regarding a subject within its jurisdiction, and may constitute improper deliberation among the members of a board or committee.

Definitions

  • A “moderator” is an authorized Town of Princeton official (appointed or elected) or employee, who reviews, authorizes and allows content submitted by the Town officials, employees and public commentators to be posted to a Town of Princeton social media site or sites.
  • An “employee” is an all-encompassing term that includes full- and part-time Town staff, elected as well as appointed committee and board personnel, and contractors while working for and under the direction of another Town employee.

Questions

Questions regarding this Policy should be directed to the Town Administrator.

Caveats

  • These guidelines may be supplemented by more specific administrative procedures and rules
  • This policy may be amended from time to time, and is meant to be read in conjunction with all other applicable policies and procedures of the Town of Princeton.
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