Social Networking Policy

Dougherty County Social Media Acceptable Usage Policy

The purpose of Dougherty County's social media, online presence is to present Dougherty County's programs, activities, and photos and to otherwise augment and enhance county transparency and access. We welcome your comments; however, please note that the County's social media sites are moderated online discussion sites and not intended as traditional public or limited-purpose public forums.

The County’s official website at dougherty.ga.us (or any domain owned by the County) will remain Dougherty County’s primary means of internet communication.

Please do not report emergencies or ask for assistance on this site. For emergency situations, dial 911. For non-emergency information, Dougherty County can be reached during business hours at 229.302.3001 or at dougherty.ga.us.

The County reserves the right to remove posts that include the following:

  • Comments unrelated to the purpose and topical scope of the page. 
  • Obscenity;
  • Pornography;
  • Incitement to imminent lawless action;
  • Comments disclosing confidential, proprietary, or private information;
  • Speech that may imperil public safety or property or that may interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution;
  • Threats;
  • Comments encouraging or promoting fraudulent activity;
  • Defamation (libel/slander);
  • Solicitations for immoral or unlawful conduct;
  • Promotion or advertisement of a business or commercial transaction;
  • Promotion in favor of, or in opposition to, a candidate campaigning for election to a political office;
  • Copyrighted material (if posted without the copyright holder's consent); or
  • Spam or links to other sites

The County may remove a submission if, in the reasonable discretion of the County official monitoring the site, it falls within one of the foregoing categories. The County also reserves the right to ban or revoke posting privileges of commenters/posters who repeatedly post comments that violate this policy. Monitoring of the site will generally occur during normal county business hours.

Also, please keep in mind that the County's social media sites are internet pages on a third party social media site, which owns and operates the site. The third party provider will have its own policies and standards concerning what may and may not be posted and the actions that it may take with regard to posts in violation of pertinent standards. It is recommended that you review applicable site policies prior to posting.

The County may remove "robo spam" and/or comments by "social bots" (i.e. content posted by automatic software programs, or "bots"), if necessary, to ensure access for the general public. Furthermore, while we encourage discussion on our social media platforms, we respectfully request that commenters/posters be mindful that the site is accessible to the public and that commenters/posters should be courteous and civil toward one another.

The County is not responsible for, and neither endorses nor opposes, comments placed on the site by visitors to the site. Commenters/posters are personally responsible for their own comments, username, and/or any information placed on the page. 



OPEN RECORDS ACT NOTIFICATION

Every comment or posting made to the site is a public record and may be disseminated, reproduced, or copied by Dougherty County or any other person without any further action by the poster or without notice by Dougherty County. The material may also be forwarded to third parties. By posting on the site, you are agreeing that you have no expectation of privacy in any submissions made to the site.

Questions regarding this policy should be sent to Dougherty County Public Information Officer at [email protected].

This policy is subject to amendment or modification at any time. By commenting or posting material to any Dougherty County, Georgia social media site, you agree that every time you visit the site, you will be bound by the terms of this policy as it presently exists and as it may be amended from time to time.