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Purpose

The purpose of the City of Hayward's Website is to advance the public's health, safety and welfare by providing information for and interacting with Hayward residents, businesses, and visitors. This policy is applicable to the City Website which is defined as any internet or intranet web page which represents itself as the City or any of its departments.

Weblinks

For purposes of this policy, an "external link" is a hyperlink from the City Website to a website maintained by another party. Neither the City Website nor the external links listed on such website constitute a forum for expressive activity by members of the public. Rather, the purpose of the City Website and the external links is to provide information about City services, officials and attractions and to promote the public's health, safety and welfare. The City is not responsible for, does not endorse, and cannot assure the accuracy of information on these outside web sites. (See Disclaimer of Endorsement below.)

Every request by a person or entity to have the City provide a link from its website to the requesting party's website must undergo review to determine its relevance and appropriateness to the City Website's mission. The City Manager or his/her designee will review the merits of the requested link, keeping in mind the criteria and examples listed below, to determine whether the link serves the overall purpose of the City Website.

A redirection page will appear when a user chooses an external link on the City Website. There will be a message alerting users that they are leaving the City Website and entering another website. The City is not responsible for the privacy practices, security or the content of sites other than the City Website.

• At its discretion the City may provide links to external websites of educational and other governmental organizations, organizations that have contractual and funding relationships with the City, organizations that provide government related information and/or services not available on an official government website, and services that support the strategic and operational goals of the City.
• The City reserves the right to determine how and where external links will appear on its web site.
• Links to commercial sites which provide a public or community service, but also display commercial advertising or promotional material, may be included within the City Website when the City Manager or his/her designee has made a good faith determination that:
  • the City's independent replication of the information targeted for linkage is unfeasible due to financial or other considerations; and
  • no non-commercial site provides the information targeted for linkage; and
  • the information targeted for linkage greatly enhances the usefulness of the City website and services it provides.
• The City Website will not provide links to sites that promote or exhibit bias, discrimination, pornography, libelous or otherwise defamatory content.

Links to the City of Hayward's Website

Advance permission to link to the City Website is not necessary. However, the party linking to the City Website should be aware that its sub-pages may change at any time without notice. Entities and individuals linking to the City Website shall not present the City's website content as its own, or otherwise misrepresent the City Website's content or misinform users about the origin or ownership of its content. Any link to the City Website should be a full forward link that passes the client browser to the City Website unencumbered. The web browser's "back" button should return the visitor to the originating site if the visitor wishes to back out.

• does not control content or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of information contained on a linked website;
• does not endorse or recommend any third party web site, product, or services, unless otherwise noted;
• does not authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked websites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked website;
• is not responsible for transmissions that users receive from linked websites.

Website Privacy

Personal information that is provided by the user will not be given, sold, disclosed or transferred to a third party without the expressed consent of the user, unless the information is subject to disclosure under federal or state law or unless the City is directed to do so as result of a court order.

Information that is generally available under the California Public Records Act and/or federal law may be posted for electronic access through the City Website.

Many non-city sites, linked to the City Website, may or may not be subject to the Public Records Act, and may or may not be subject to other sections of the California Code or federal law. Therefore, visitors to such sites are advised to check the privacy statements of such sites and to be cautious about providing personally identifiable information without a clear understanding of how the information will be used.

Website Security

The City is committed to protecting the security of personally identifiable information that is either available from or collected by the City Website and has taken reasonable precautions to protect such information from loss, misuse, or alteration.

Liability Disclaimer

The City is neither responsible nor liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions arising out of your use of the City Website or with respect to the material contained on the Website, including without limitation, any material posted on the Website nor for any viruses or other contamination of your system. The City Website and all materials contained on it are distributed and transmitted "as is" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitations, warranties of title or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The City is not responsible for any special, indirect, incidental or consequential damages that may arise from the use of, or the inability to use, the Website and/or the materials contained on the Website whether the materials contained on the Website are provided by the City or a third party. The City is neither responsible nor liable for any viruses or other contamination of your system.

Legal Notice

Information provided to the City of Hayward through its Website, through email, or through other messaging systems does not constitute legal notice to the City.

Unauthorized Use

All material on the City of Hayward Website (content, logos, graphics, and images) is property of the City and no person or entity may duplicate, upload, republish, modify, transmit, post or distribute or mirror the City's information on a non-City server without the expressed written permission to do so from the City.

Accessibility

The City will comply with accepted disability access design standards to ensure that people with disabilities can easily access City information.