Policy

Website Policy

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.

Accessibility

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

The following policy shall govern all posts and comments by both City Social Media site administrators and public visitors to City Social Media sites:


Social Media Policy

Privacy Policy & Disclaimer

Any individual accessing, browsing and using a City of Hayward social media site – whether as a visitor or an administrator – unequivocally accepts the social media policies (hereafter “Policies”) set forth in this document. These terms and conditions apply only to the Social Media sites (defined here as third party hosted online platforms that facilitate social interaction and dialogue, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube) that are managed by the City of Hayward.

The City maintains the right to modify these Policies without notice. Any modification is effective immediately upon posting the modification on the Social Media Policy page unless otherwise stated. Continued use of a City of Hayward Social Media site following the posting of any modification signifies acceptance of such modification.

All users of a City of Hayward Social Media site are also subject to the site’s own Privacy Policy. The City of Hayward has no control over a third party site’s privacy policy or their modifications to it. The City of Hayward also has no control over content, commercial advertisements or other postings produced by the Social Media site that appear on the City of Hayward Social Media site as part of the site’s environment.

The City of Hayward operates and maintains its Social Media sites as a public service to provide information about City programs, services, projects, issues, events and activities. The City of Hayward assumes no liability for any inaccuracies these Social Media sites may contain and does not guarantee that the Social Media sites will be uninterrupted, permanent or error‐free.

Posting & Commenting Policy

Although posts and comments are encouraged on the City of Hayward Social Media sites that allow posts, these sites are limited public forums and are moderated by City staff. All posted content (comments, photos, links, etc.) must be related to discussion of City programs, services, projects, issues, events and activities.

The following are prohibited on City of Hayward Social Media sites:

  • Comments not topically related to City programs, services, projects, issues, events and activities, or the particular post being commented upon
  • Posts and comments that promote or advertise commercial services, entities or products except as stipulated in City marketing plans and determined by the City to be essential to economic development
  • Political statements, including comments that endorse or oppose political candidates or ballot propositions
  • Religious statements, including comments that endorse or oppose any type of religious opinions or activities
  • Posts and comments that promote, foster or perpetuate discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, gender identity, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation
  • Posts and comments that include vulgar, offensive, threatening or harassing language, personal attacks or unsupported accusations
  • Obscene or sexual content or links to obscene or sexual content illegal activity 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
  • The City of Hayward reserves the right to remove posted content that does not comply with these Policies. All posts and comments uploaded to City of Hayward Social Media sites that allow posts will be periodically reviewed. All posts and comments are public records subject to public disclosure under the Public Records Act and Proposition 59

Communications made through City of Hayward Social Media sites in no way constitute a legal or official notice or comment to the City of Hayward. To comment about a specific City project or program, please contact the appropriate department.

Links & Embedded Content

Links to other Social Media and/or External Websites Provided on City Social Media Sites
The City of Hayward may provide links to other websites or Social Media profiles as a resource to visitors. Once visitors click on these links and leave the City’s official page, the policies articulated here no longer apply. Furthermore, visitors who choose to follow these links to external sites or Social Media profiles should be advised that the City is not responsible for the content that appears on these pages.

The City of Hayward reserves the right to delete links posted by visitors to its Social Media sites if they are deemed to violate the policies set forth in this document.

  • Links By Other Entities To City Social Media Sites
  • Advance permission to link to City of Hayward Social Media sites is unnecessary. Entities and individuals linking to official City of Hayward Social Media sites may not in any way suggest a relationship or affiliation with the City, or that the City endorses, sponsors or recommends their products, opinions or site content
  • Embedded Content From City Social Media Sites On Other Sites
  • Content embedded from any City of Hayward Social Media site shall not be misrepresented in any way, although advance permission for use is unnecessary. The use of content embedded from City of Hayward Social Media sites on a third-party site may not in any way imply the City of Hayward’s endorsement, support, sponsorship or approval of that site

Copyright Policy

Material made available via official City of Hayward Social Media sites is the property of the City of Hayward and intended for informational purposes only. Any re-use, transmission, duplication or distribution of any material found on an official City of Hayward Social Media site must be clearly attributed to the City of Hayward. Commercial uses of copyrighted material found on City of Hayward Social Media sites is prohibited without the express written consent of the City of Hayward. Use of the City rosette and tagline (“Heart of the Bay”) are trademarked and copyrighted and may not be used for any non-governmental purpose.

Download the full policy here

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about the City of Hayward Social Media Policy or its implementation, or if you find incorrect information or are interested in seeking permissions that fall outside of the guidelines above, please contact us at webmaster@hayward-ca.gov.