Website / Social Media Policies

Privacy

The City of Bristol is committed to and respects the privacy of its website users. Our goal is to provide you with a website that gives a personalized internet experience, and that delivers information, resources and services that are relevant and helpful.

To achieve our goal, the City of Bristol sometimes collects information through our website to better serve you and your interests. Any information we collect is used for internal purposes only. The City of Bristol does not share your information with anyone unless the law requires it. Data is collected solely to track the number of computers used to visit our site, the pages visited most often, and the timeframe used most frequently. This statistical data is gathered to analyze what information is most frequently requested by the public and how the City of Bristol can best provide it. We do not collect or track personal information on any individual using the site.

Security

Because of the nature of the Internet, information transmitted by this website may be intercepted by a third party. In addition, when you leave our site to visit another site, your information can be collected and used by others. Internet users should always be cautious when providing information on the web, but you can be assured that when you use City of Bristol online services, we only use the safest third party processing agencies.

Linking

The City of Bristol provides links to other organizations through this site. These links are provided for additional information as a service to our visitors. In providing these links, the City does not endorse the content, products, services or viewpoints expressed by these external sites or assume any liability for their internet security or lack there-of. These links may be created by the City if it determines that establishing the external link will be consistent with assisting or furthering the purpose of this site, which is to improve the level of customer service from city government.

Hyperlinks to external websites and pages may be removed or replaced at the sole discretion of the City of Bristol, at any time without notice.

Linking to the City of Bristol

Linking to this website is permitted under limited conditions. If you link to this site, you may not portray any person or subject in a false or misleading light. You must also refrain from creating frames, or using other visual altering tools, around the City of Bristol pages. Lastly, you may not imply that the City of Bristol is endorsing your product or services.

To link to the City of Bristol, use the web address www.bristoltn.org.

Copyright

All materials posted on this site are subject to copyrights owned by the City of Bristol. However, you are free to view, copy, print and distribute material from this site, as long as:

The material is used for information only
The material is used for non-commercial purposes only
Copies of any material include the City's copyright notice. Any other reproduction, retransmissions, or republication of all or part of any document found on this site is expressly prohibited, unless explicitly granted by the City of Bristol

Disclaimer

Every attempt has been made to ensure the information contained herein is valid and accurate at the time of publication. The City of Bristol however, reserves the right to make changes, corrections and /or improvements at any time and without notice. In addition, the City of Bristol disclaims any and all liability for damages incurred directly or indirectly as a result of errors, omissions or discrepancies.

This site is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. You should not assume that this site is error-free or that it will be suitable for the particular purpose which you have in mind when using it.

In no event shall the City of Bristol be liable for any special, incidental, indirect or consequential damages of any kind, or any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, those resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether or not advised of the possibility of damage, and on any theory of liability, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of this site or other documents which are referenced by or linked to this site.

City of Bristol's Social Media Terms of Use

The City of Bristol maintains a social media program for the purpose of engaging and interacting with the community, providing relevant and timely community news and information, publicizing City and community events, and distributing crime prevention and public safety tips. We have adopted the following ground rules for using the City’s social media sites. By posting or commenting on social media, you participate by your own choice, and take personal responsibility for your comments, your username, and any information provided under that username. By continuing to use the social media site, you agree to these terms of use. You also agree to be bound by the provider’s terms and conditions for use of their platform.

Limited Public Forum: The City uses social media sites to provide information about City services, events, meetings, history, public safety, and other matters of City business. The City reserves the right to limit the content that it posts in order to provide a forum that is useful to City residents. The City invites social media users to comment on content that the City shares, but such comments should be limited to matters of City business. The City reserves the right to remove comments or posts that are clearly unrelated to City business and services.

The City will remove inappropriate material without prior notice to the poster or commenter. Inappropriate material includes:

Personal information of individuals, such as addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses or other information made private by state or Federal law;
Nudity, pornography, or other sexual, obscene, or indecent material;
Threats, harassment, or stalking;
Clearly defamatory statements;
Encouragement of immediate illegal activity or violence;
Links to malicious or harmful websites or software;
Content that violates a legal ownership interest, such as a copyright, of any party; or
Spam.

Inappropriate material will be removed even if it is “on-topic,” or related in some way to City business and services.

If you wish to contest the removal or hiding of content that you have shared, you may do so by contacting us at (423)989-5500 and asking to speak to our Community Relations department.

Social media should not be used to report criminal activities, service outages (such as water line breaks), or complaints about specific City employees. Criminal activities should be reported by calling 911 for emergencies, or (423)989-5600 for non-emergencies. After-hours service outages should be reported by calling (423)989-5600. All other complaints can be reported by calling (423)989-5500.

City’s Right to Posted Information: All messages, images and information posted on the City’s social media outlets or sent to the City by electronic means (even “private” means such as private messages) may be considered public information. The City may preserve, repost, or disseminate such messages, images, and information as it deems appropriate.

Public Records Law: Messages sent to or received by City officials or employees, even by private messaging, are subject to applicable Public Records laws. Any content maintained in a social media format related to City business, including communications posted by the City and communications received from citizens, may be a public record. The City is responsible for responding completely and accurately to any public records request for social media content.

Endorsements: A comment or post posted by a third party is the opinion of the commenter or poster only, and the inclusion of a comment on the City’s social media sites does not imply that the City endorses or agrees with such comments, or that the comments reflect the opinions or policies of the City. The City disclaims any responsibility for such third-party comments or posts.

The City may post external links from time to time. The City does not endorse or sponsor these external sites, their content, or their hosts. The views and opinions of the authors of documents published on or linked to by the City are not necessarily the opinions, policies, or positions of the City.

Violations of a site’s community standards or terms and conditions may be reported to the social media site.

Posting Photos on Our Pages

The City of Bristol does not claim any ownership rights in photos that you post or share on our social media pages. However, by posting a photo on our pages you hereby grant the City of Bristol a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license to use, modify, delete from, add to, publicly display and/or reproduce your photo, including without limitation in any online media formats and through any social media channels, pages or accounts. You can revoke this license at any time by emailing us and informing us that you no longer want us to use your photo.