Social Media Policy

Revised October 2022

The City of Allen uses social media channels as a service to the public. We make every effort to ensure the information we share is accurate; however, assessing accuracy and reliability of information is the sole responsibility of the user. The City's website, CityofAllen.org, remains the most current and official source for all news, information, and service alerts.

Requests for emergency services should be directed to 9-1-1 and not through social media.

Comment moderation
To help keep discussions on-topic and neighborly, the City of Allen reserves the right to remove comments that:

  • Are of a repetitive or “spamming” nature (the same comment or content posted multiple times, either on the same post or on multiple posts);
  • Promote, endorse or solicit commercial services, products or entities;
  • Contain threatening, violent, obscene, or pornographic content and/or language*;
  • Promote discrimination of state and/or federal protected classes.
  • Promote or encourage illegal activity;
  • Contain information that may compromise the safety, security of the public or public systems;
  • Contain information that directly interferes or compromises ongoing investigations, public safety tactics, or the safety of public safety officers;
  • Contain personally identifiable information or sensitive personal information that, if released, violates state or federal law;
  • Violate the legal ownership interest of another party; or
  • Clearly violate the social media site’s term of service

All comments are public and subject to public disclosure. Your participation is at your own risk, and users are personally responsible for their comments, photos, username, and any other information provided. The views and comments expressed on social media sites only reflect those of the comment’s author, and do not necessarily reflect the official view of the City of Allen, its elected or appointed officials and employees, or its departments.

We understand that social media is a 24/7 medium; however, our moderation capabilities are not. We may not see every comment right away, and trust in our community to ignore personal attacks and negative speech or respond politely.

Linking
Links from social media sites/pages operated by the City of Allen to any other websites do not constitute or imply endorsement by the City of Allen of those sites, their content, or products and services associated with those sites.

Privacy notification
Posts and comments on social media sites/pages operated by the City of Allen are public and may be viewed by all visitors. Therefore, users should be careful about posting any private or personally identifiable information and limit such information to the minimum necessary to communicate their message. If you need to include private or personally identifiable information in your communications, contact the City of Allen directly.

Public information
Content and comments on City of Allen social media sites/pages constitute public information subject to the Texas Public Information Act. Public information requests will be handled in accordance with the Texas Public Information Act.

Records retention
Content of the City of Allen's social media sites/pages constitute public records subject to Texas records retention requirements and shall be retained and archived as such.

Third-party website policy
The social media sites/pages employed by the City of Allen are hosted by third parties, and in addition to the policies of the City, the use of those sites is governed by the social media providers' their respective privacy policies and terms of service.

If you believe your comment was removed in error, contact coa@cityofallen.org for assistance.