Purpose:

The purpose of Beaufort County's participation in social media is to enhance communication, collaboration, information exchange, and transparency from the County to its residents. Beaufort County uses social media to educate residents, learn about needs and concerns, contribute to relevant conversations, and promote Beaufort County programs and services. Beaufort County Government's Social Media Comments Policy provides people who choose to comment on social media postings made by the County with guidelines for engagement. Please note that some social media posts submitted by Beaufort County Government on their social media sites may have comments disabled by utilizing the tools offered through each social media platform. 

Click here to submit your comments to Beaufort County Government.

Information Accuracy:

Users should know that the information available through Beaufort County social media accounts may not be timely, accurate, or complete. Third-party comments and/or posts expressed on this site do not reflect the opinions or positions of Beaufort County, South Carolina, or its officers, agents, affiliates, or employees, nor does Beaufort County guarantee the accuracy of such information posted by members of the public. Furthermore, the publication of a comment or post does not imply endorsement of or agreement by Beaufort County, nor do such statements reflect the opinions or policies of the Beaufort County Council.

Monitoring:

Beaufort County considers its social media accounts as moderated, limited discussion sites, and not public forums. While Beaufort County makes reasonable efforts to monitor and/or moderate comments posted on its social media platforms, Beaufort County cannot always respond promptly. Beaufort County does not promise to respond to any or all comments, and if it chooses to respond, will only respond to comments during standard business hours. Do NOT use Beaufort County social media pages for any type of emergency or to report a crime. For emergencies and/or to report a crime, please call 9-1-1.

Terms of Participation:

Transparent communication of Beaufort County services and initiatives is essential to Beaufort County. Since our community includes people of all ages and backgrounds, this disclaimer intends to seek that all posted comments are appropriate for all ages; courteous and respectful of others; and related to matters, activities, programs, policies, or operations relevant to Beaufort County. Therefore, anyone who posts a comment to a Beaufort County social media site must agree to the following terms of participation:

• Users will treat others with respect
• Users warrant that they own or have permission to post the information contained in their postings, including but not limited to video, photos, or digital reproductions and that the posting does not infringe on a copyright, trademark or other intellectual property rights.
• Users of this site do not retain any rights over their postings. Postings are open to the public, and any personal information posted constitutes a waiver of any rights to privacy or confidentiality.
• Users must comply with all terms or statements of use of specific third-party services (YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Next-door). Beaufort County reserves the right to report any violation to the particular service following the thirdparty service's policies.

Prohibited Comments and Posts:

Beaufort County Government reserves the right to delete any or all comments. Ordinarily, moderators will not remove a comment or post based on a person's or thirdparty's opinion or viewpoint. The below (including but not limited to) types of comments/posts are prohibited on Beaufort County social media sites and are subject to removal by the County:

• Posts and comments that contain language that is considered defamatory, offensive, threatening, and harassing.
• Posts or comments that target or disparage any race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regards to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or content otherwise deemed inappropriate.
• Posts or comments that are obscene or possess sexual content or links to lewd or sexual content.
• Posts and comments that are spam or include links to other sites.
• Posts and comments that violate any federal, state, or local law or advocate illegal activity.
• Posts and comments that promote particular services, products, or political organizations.
• Political comments or posts promoting, opposing, or advertising any person campaigning for election to a political office or promoting or opposing ballot propositions.
• Posts must be related to items within the authority or jurisdiction of Beaufort County
• Posts and comments that infringe on copyrights, trademarks or other intellectual property rights, unless posted with the copyright/trademark holder's consent.
• Post or comments with personally identifiable information, including but not limited to, Social Security Numbers, home or business addresses, email addresses, or phone numbers.
• Posts or comments with solicitations, solicitations of funds or advertisements, including promotion or endorsement of any financial, commercial, or nongovernmental agency; as well as, solicitations to commit, or speech integral to, criminal conduct.
• Defamation (libel/slander)
• Fraud
• Posts or comments that contain information that could compromise the safety or security of the public, public officials, Beaufort County employees, or public systems.
• Posts or comments that include content that could compromise an ongoing investigation and police tactics.
• Posts or comments with content that could violate the legal ownership interest of any other party. Intellectual property or proprietary information posted without the owner's permission or approval, including copyrighted or trademarked images or graphics and images not owned by the user.
• Posts or comments that contain viruses or similar harmful programs, including spam and similar content.
• Duplicate posts
• Posts or comments that include embedded links to external websites or applications
• Posts and Comments of a troll and/or automatic software programs such as bot accounts.

Violators of this policy may have their comments removed from the county’s official social media platforms. Continued or egregious violations of this policy may prompt the county to further restrict an individual’s commenting on official county social media platforms.

Removal of Comments:

Beaufort County Government reserves the right to delete comments and/or posts at any time.

Links by Other Entities to Beaufort County Social Media Sites:

Entities and individuals linking to Beaufort County Social Media sites should not in any way suggest that Beaufort County has any relationship or affiliation with that organization or that Beaufort County endorses, sponsors, or recommends the information, products, or services of that site.

Embedded content from Beaufort County Social Media Sites on other sites:

It is unnecessary to get advance permission to embed Beaufort County Social Media site content. Entities and individuals embedding content must not present Beaufort County content as their own or otherwise misrepresent Beaufort County's Social Media site content. Furthermore, they shall not misinform users about Beaufort County Social Media site content's origin or ownership.

Embedded content from Beaufort County Social Media sites should not in any way suggest that Beaufort County has any relationship or affiliation with that organization or that the County endorses, sponsors, or recommends the information, products, or services of that site. Beaufort County reserves all copyrights in information published on its websites or social media sites.

Responsibility of Content:

Site administrators, writers, third-parties, and social media users are fully responsible for the content they submit. Users participate at their own risk and are personally accountable for their own comments, personal identifiers, and any information provided. Beaufort County disclaims any liability for advertisements, videos, promoted content, posts, or comments posted by visitors to this page.

Liability:

Beaufort County expressly disclaims liability for any viruses or other contamination of a user's computer system or other devices used to access Beaufort County's social media platforms. Beaufort County does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by users on this site is correct. Beaufort County disclaims any responsibility or liability for any misstatement and/or misunderstanding on the users' part. Beaufort County expressly disclaims liability for actions or decisions taken or not taken based on any or all contents of its social media sites. Beaufort County disclaims any liability whatsoever for any loss (directly or indirectly) or damage resulting from reliance on such information.

E-Discovery:

The social media sites utilized by Beaufort County Government (YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Next-door) are moderated online discussion sites and subject to South Carolina Public Records and e-discovery laws and policies. Please note that the opinions and comments expressed on the Beaufort County Government social media sites do not necessarily reflect the opinions and positions of Beaufort County Government, its officers, elected officials, or employees. If you have any questions concerning the operation of Beaufort County Government social media platforms and the moderated discussion rules, please contact pio@bcgov.net.