Social Media Policy
(Please note this policy has been adapted from University of Melbourne Student Union Social Media Policy and formal permission has been sought.)
Background
GSA recognises that for Membership, Representative Council members, Board and staff, social media offers a major opportunity to share the experiences of graduates, provide a platform for discussions, debates, sharing of ideas, communication and promotion of our activities to graduates, stakeholders and the wider public. To enable GSA to take advantage of this opportunity, a number of social media platforms have been established which are used to positively promote our mission.
To enable all the stakeholders who will utilise our social media sites and to promote an open, trusting, collaborative workplace, this policy outlines the expectations of the organisation and the rules to be followed when posting material on social media platforms. The rules in the policy are to ensure everyone has a fair chance to share their voice in a respectful manner and this document should be read in conjunction with GSA Media and Internet and Email Systems policies in order to maximise our social media reach while protecting our public reputation.
Authorisation
Board will authorise the ratification of this policy and the Chief Executive Officer with the Managers and Communication Team will support and monitor the implementation of the policy.
Purpose and Scope
The purpose of this document is set out the parameters of the GSA’s engagement with its stakeholders and the broader community through the use social media. GSA may choose to engage in social media such as:
- WordPress/Blogger
- YouTube/Vimeo
- iTunes/Podcasting
- Instagram/Tumblr
Rules of Social Media Policy
(Adapted from UMSU Social Media Policy)
- GSA will reserve the right to remove any content that is threatening, abusive or deliberately bigoted. Our community is not the place to harass someone you disagree with.
- GSA encourages and promotes debate but all posts must be respectful.
- GSA values your privacy. Any public posts that disclose an individual’s contact information, even your own, will be removed.
- GSA is governed by all the Commonwealth and State statutory laws. We expect you to not post any material that may be defamatory, contravene intellectual property laws or otherwise impinge on the legal rights of other users and entities. This includes statements or images with racist, sexist or otherwise discriminatory messages.
- Remember that there are consequences to what you publish. There may be times where you feel something has been misrepresented. If you need to correct the content of another user’s post please do so with respect and keep to the facts.
- Be mindful of the fact that any content that you publish will be in the public domain and in some cases will remain public for a long time. You are personally responsible for any content that you publish. Be aware that your content may provoke a response and be open to the opinions of others.
- GSA is not your advertising tool. Individuals or businesses may not advertise products or services without prior approval. This includes other Facebook pages who leave spam comments on our posts. Contributions from personal accounts promoting commercial interests will be removed, where appropriate.
- Office Bearer social media profiles must be clear when the communicate individual support of activities, individuals or their affiliated groups versus formally endorsed GSA support for activities, individuals or their affiliated groups.
- The same goes for our ‘shares’ on Facebook and ‘retweets’ on Twitter. GSA communities enjoy participating on the social media landscape by interacting with other organisations in these ways. GSA will share content in good faith. Sharing content does not necessarily reflect organisational endorsement.
- While GSA supports lively, open discussion, we reserve the right to block any users who don’t comply with the above categories, or who are otherwise deemed to be behaving inappropriately. At our discretion, individuals or entities who violate these terms will be blocked.
- In serious or repeated cases of wilful breach of the terms, we may report the conduct to the University as a breach of the Student Conduct Policy
- GSA reserves the right to refer any posts which indicate an individual is at risk of harm to the appropriate authorities and/or services. In rare cases, we may choose to hide certain posts or messages from public view if their content could have an impact on a criminal investigation.
- Our online channels are monitored from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and we will endeavour to respond to any enquiries within 24 hours of receiving them. Any comments or messages submitted to us outside of these hours may be subject to a delay in reply. Authorised Representative Council and staff will be responsible for moderation.
- Please note that from time to time we may make changes to these terms of use at our sole discretion as per the policy development document. Any changes to these terms will apply to GSA’s online channels from the date they are published.
- GSA social media presence must not conflict with contractual and mutual obligations of its partnerships with University of Melbourne, funders and private sponsorships.
- Social media accounts for individual offices or representatives of GSA may, in accordance with this policy, speak on behalf of their portfolio and their constituencies. However, they may not purport to speak on behalf of the entire association unless that individual is the GSA President acting under 8.1b(iii) of the GSA Constitution.
The fast-moving nature of social media and constant development of new platforms requires that this policy and associated procedures be reviewed regularly. Breach of this policy or failure to comply with a request to remove content that is prohibited by this policy may result in disciplinary action, including the termination of employment/ removal from the elected student representative positions.