Office of the Governor Social Media and Photo Policy
Social Media
This document constitutes the Office of the Governor of Utah’s Social Media Public Comment Policy. The Governor’s Office reserves the right to modify this policy without notice. Any changes will become effective upon publication.
Purpose
The purpose of the Office of the Governor of Utah’s official social media platforms is to provide information of public interest to Utahns and other members of the general public. The posts, photos, tweets, videos, other original content, and “reposts” are controlled by the Governor, Office of the Governor, or members of staff and are provided to fulfill the stated purpose. The Office of the Governor encourages commenters to engage by submitting comments and questions regarding the posted topics and by sharing the posted information with others.
Comments
The Governor’s Office welcomes participation on the issues presented and encourages commenters to take part in a civil manner appropriate for a broad audience. The Governor’s Office does not delete comments or posts. The Governor’s Office does not moderate content beyond what the Office creates. Comments must abide by the terms of service and “community standards” of the relevant social media platform. As part of or in addition to a platform’s terms of service or community standards comments may be moderated or hidden if they contain, constitute, or link to:
- Undertaking or encouraging illegal activity or violence;
- Content that may attempt or tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems; and
- Profanity, vulgarity, nudity, indecency, or obscenity, including a list of words selected by the Governor’s Office in a platform’s automatic profanity, vulgarity, and obscenity filter
Guidance
The Governor’s Office will promote a commenting decorum conducive to constructive discussion and dissemination of information related to the Governor’s Office. The Governor’s Office does not discriminate on the basis of identity or anonymity of the commenter, or the commenter’s viewpoint. Comments that express disagreement with a particular position will not be hidden by the Governor’s Office.
General Notices
The Governor’s Office does not monitor comments. Inappropriate comments may be reported to the platform in accordance with the platform’s community guidelines.
While the Governor’s Office may respond to constituent requests made in comments, it is under no obligation to do so. Individuals seeking help from the Governor’s Office should contact Constituent Services by visiting the Governor’s contact page or calling 801-538-1000.
Comments are the opinion of the commenter and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or policy of the Governor of Utah or the Governor’s Office and its officers, employees, and agents.
Comments may be public record subject to public disclosure under the Utah Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA).
Legal notices and other requests, such as requests for records under GRAMA, Notices of Claim required as a condition to bring suit against the State, an arm of the State, or its employees, or service of summonses or subpoenas may not be made through social media comments and will not constitute valid compliance with statutory notice and service requirements.
Comments made on this page do not constitute official notice or comment for any rulemaking. Any information posted on any Governor’s Office social media website is provided on an “as is” basis, and all individuals who view the material assume the risk of use or reliance on such information. The Governor, the Governor’s Office, and its officers, employees, or agents are not liable for any injury or damage resulting from viewing, distributing, or copying materials on a social media platform or account, including, without limitation, liability for indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages. The Governor’s Office makes no guarantee that information posted, or comments amended to any postings, are free of copyright claims or other restrictions on free use.
Social Media Community Guidelines
The Governor’s Office adheres to the platform community guidelines below. While the Governor’s Office will not moderate comments beyond the policies noted above, the platform may hide, remove, or otherwise moderate comments according to its community guidelines.
Meta (Facebook, Instagram) – https://transparency.fb.com/policies/community-standards
Twitter – https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-rules
Office of the Governor Photo Policy
The Office of the Governor of Utah encourages the public to explore, download and enjoy the photos on its official website, but there are a few restrictions:.
- The photos found on this website are owned by the office and we retain the rights to determine permitted use of those photos.
- Unauthorized use of photos found on this website – including but not limited to reproduction, distribution, alteration, or commercial use – is strictly prohibited without permission.
- Photos may not be used in a manner that expresses or implies that the governor approves, endorses, has endorsed, or will endorse a particular subject, without the express written consent of this office.
- Photos downloaded or copied from this website may not be altered in any way.
- Viewers who use a photo from our photo pages must provide credit as follows: “Photo by Utah Office of the Governor.”
If you are interested in using a photo for any purpose, please request permission by emailing Nic Naylor, visual communications manager, at nnaylor@utah.gov.
Contacts
Natalie Pyne
Digital Communications Manager