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Social Media & Networking Policy and Standards

The Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) provides guidance, with approval from the State Governmental Technology Applications Review Board, for all State of Oklahoma agencies regarding the creation and use of emerging web tools to facilitate collaboration, information sharing, social networking and social media. Below are the social networking and social media policy and standards for all State of Oklahoma agencies, in addition to a list of approved technologies.

OMES and the Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General have been working to renegotiate Terms of Service (TOS) agreements with a broad range of social media providers who offer free services to users. The objective is to resolve issues with the existing standard terms that are problematic to state and local agencies. Having these agreements means that, if a state of local government chooses to use various social networking or social media sites, it won’t have to start from scratch on negotiating a special TOS.

Policy and Standards Documents

Templates

State Agency Social Media Policy (doc)

Approved Technologies

OMES is currently reviewing a number of other technologies. If your agency has a business need for a specific technology, submit an online request and OMES will review the technology for possible inclusion in this list.

The State of Oklahoma has negotiated an amendment to the BigStock terms and usage. 

BigStock has specifically agreed to modify the provisions of its terms and conditions to:

  • Delete clause pertaining to indemnification
  • Delete clause pertaining to governing law and venue

In order to access the amended terms, agencies wishing to use the service must contact the BigStock Help Center at by phone at 1-855-272-5125, by email, or by live chat on the BigStock website. 

Key Documents/Online Content

Implementation Steps

  1. Before a State of Oklahoma agency may use any social media or social networking site, the agency must have such an internal social media policy developed and approved by the Office of Management and Enterprise (OMES). Create the policy and email the OMES service desk.  In the subject link add Agency Social Networking and Social Networking Policy. Guidance for creating this policy may be found in the State of Oklahoma Social Networking and Social Media Development Methodology. OMES must approve the agency policy before the agency may use social networking or social media technologies.

  2. Review the BigStock terms and usage agreements and request the negotiated amendment using the process above. If your agency already has a BigStock account, you will need to request access to the amended terms in order for them to apply. Agencies will need to supply the agency name, address, the user name and email for the account. After signing the agreement, the agency should retain a copy of signed amendment and then mail a copy to Shutterstock, Inc. d/b/a BigStock, 350 Fifth Ave., New York, New York, 10018.

Links on OK.gov

In order for an agency to have its social networking or social media site linked on the State web portal, OK.gov, an agency must to sign and return a copy of the Social Networking/Social Media Agreement. You may obtain a digital copy of the agreement by contacting the OMES Service Desk - by phone at 405-521-2444 or email.

The agreement must be signed by the agency director or deputy director and returned to the State Chief Information Officer. If you have any questions about the agreement, please contact the OMES Service Desk - by phone at 405-521-2444 or by email.

The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) and the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) have negotiated an amendment to the Facebook Page Terms. The Amended Page Terms for State and Local Governments in the United States is available from the Facebook Pages Terms. View the State CIO and Attorney General news release about the amended terms.

Facebook has specifically agreed to modify the provisions of its terms and conditions to:

  • Strike the indemnity clause except to the extent indemnity is allowed by a state's constitution or law;
  • Strike language requiring that legal disputes be venued in California courts and adjudicated under California law;
  • Require that a public agency include language directing consumers to its official website prominently on any Facebook page; and
  • Encourage amicable resolution between public entities and Facebook over any disputes.

The modifications immediately apply to state and local government agencies already on Facebook.

Key Documents/Online Content

Implementation Steps

  1. Before a State of Oklahoma agency may use any social media or social networking site, the agency must have such an internal social media policy developed and approved by the Office of Management and Enterprise (OMES). Create the policy and email to the OMES Service Desk. Guidance for creating this policy may be found in the State of Oklahoma Social Networking and Social Media Development Methodology. OMES must approve the agency policy before the agency may use social networking or social media technologies.

  2. Review the Facebook Terms of Service, the Facebook Pages Terms and the Amended Page Terms for State and Local Governments in the United States. The amended terms were issued in December 2010, and apply to existing and new accounts. The state has accepted the amended pages.

Links on OK.gov

In order for an agency to have its social networking or social media site linked on the state web portal, oklahoma.gov, an agency must to sign and return a copy of the Social Networking/Social Media Agreement. You may obtain a digital copy of the agreement by contacting the OMES Service Desk - by phone at 405-521-2444 or by e-mail.

The agreement must be signed by the agency director or deputy director and returned to the State Chief Information Officer. If you have any questions about the agreement, please contact the OMES Service Desk - by phone at 405-521-2444 or by e-mail.

NOTICE: Go.USA.gov is no longer available. For more information, please see their FAQs (link opens in new window) as they will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available. 

The General Services Administration negotiated an amendment to the Instagram terms. The Amended Terms for Federal, State, and Local Governments in the United States is available online. 

Instagram has specifically agreed to modify the provisions of its terms and conditions to:

  • Strike the indemnity clause except to the extent indemnity is allowed by laws of your jurisdiction;
  • Strike language requiring that legal disputes be venued in California courts and adjudicated under California law; and
  • Encourage amicable resolution between public entities and Instagram over any disputes.

The modifications immediately apply to state and local government agencies already on Instagram.

Key Documents/Online Content

Implementation Steps

  1. Before a State of Oklahoma agency may use any social media or social networking site, the agency must have such an internal social media policy developed and approved by OMES. Create the policy and email the OMES Service Desk.   Guidance for creating this policy may be found in the State of Oklahoma Social Networking and Social Media Development Methodology. OMES must approve the agency policy before the agency may use social networking or social media technologies.

  2. Review the Instagram Terms of Service and the Amended Terms for Federal, State and Local Governments in the United States. The amended terms apply to existing and new accounts. The state has accepted the amended terms.

Links on OK.gov

In order for an agency to have its social networking or social media site linked on the State web portal, oklahoma.gov, an agency must sign and return a copy of the Social Networking/Social Media Agreement. You may obtain a digital copy of the agreement by contacting the OMES Service Desk - by phone at 405-521-2444 or by e-mail.

The agreement must be signed by the agency director or deputy director and returned to the State Chief Information Officer. If you have any questions about the agreement, please contact the OMES Service Desk - by phone at 405-521-2444 or by e-mail.

The Office of Management and Enterprise Services has completed a re-negotiated amendment to the LinkedIn user agreement. The agreement covers free and paid services for this social networking platform, including Slideshare. A copy of the fully executed, amended user agreement (.pdf, 4 pp, 275 KB) is available online.

The modifications immediately apply to Oklahoma state government agencies already on LinkedIn.

Key Documents/Online Content

Implementation Steps

  1. Before a State of Oklahoma agency may use any social media or social networking site, the agency must have such an internal social media policy developed and approved by the Office of Management and Enterprise (OMES). Create the policy and email to the OMES Service Desk. Guidance for creating this policy may be found in the State of Oklahoma Social Networking and Social Media Development Methodology. OMES must approve the agency policy before the agency may use social networking or social media technologies.

  2. Review the copy of the fully executed, amended user agreement. The amended agreement applies to existing and new accounts. The state has accepted the amended agreement.

Links on OK.gov

In order for an agency to have its social networking or social media site linked on the State Web portal, OK.gov, an agency must to sign and return a copy of the Social Networking/Social Media Agreement. You may obtain a digital copy of the agreement by contacting the OMES Service Desk - by phone at 405-521-2444 or email.

The agreement must be signed by the agency director or deputy director and returned to the State Chief Information Officer. If you have any questions about the agreement, please contact the OMES Service Desk - by phone at 405-521-2444 or email.

 

The Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) Information Services (IS) has negotiated a revised terms of service with Pinterest that will allow State of Oklahoma agencies to use the social media technology. The revised terms are available at online. The modifications apply to state government agencies already using Pinterest. The state has accepted the the revised terms.

Key Documents/Online Content

Implementation Steps

Before any Oklahoma agency may use any social media or social networking site, the agency must have such an internal social media policy developed and approved by OMES. Create the policy and email a copy to the OMES Service Desk. A template for state agency policy is available online. Additional guidance for creating this policy may be found in the State of Oklahoma Social Networking and Social Media Development Methodology. Before an agency may use social networking or social media technologies, OMES must approve the agency policy.

Links on OK.gov

In order for an agency to have its social networking or social media site linked on the state web portal, OK.gov, an agency must to sign and return a copy of the Social Networking/Social Media Agreement. You may obtain a digital copy of the agreement by contacting the OMES Service Desk - by phone at 405-521-2444 or e-mail.

The agreement must be signed by the agency director or deputy director and returned to the State Chief Information Officer. If you have any questions about the agreement, please contact the OMES Service Desk - by phone at 405-521-2444 or e-mail.

The Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) has cleared the micro-blogging platform Twitter for use by State of Oklahoma agencies. An accessibility compliant version of the technology is available at EasyChirp.

Key Documents/Online Content

Implementation Steps

  1. Before an Oklahoma agency may use any social media or social networking site, the agency must have such an internal social media policy developed and approved by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES). Create the policy and email a copy to the OMES Service Desk. Guidance for creating this policy may be found in the State of Oklahoma Social Networking and Social Media Development Methodology. Before an agency may use social networking or social media technologies, OSF must approve the agency policy.

  2. Review the Twitter Terms of Service.

  3. Request a copy of the State of Oklahoma Twitter template. To make the request, contact the OMES Service Desk - by phone at 405-521-2444 or e-mail. The template is an Adobe Photoshop document (.psd file) containing the layers that will allow an agency to add its name and logo.

  4. Provide a link to EasyChirp, an accessible version of Twitter, when using the Twitter service to comply with Oklahoma EITA Standards.

Twitter Archive

Twitter has now implemented a "Request your archive" feature for Twitter accounts. To request an archive beginning with the first Tweet, select the wheel icon to the right of the Search field and choose "Settings." The URL (website address) should look like https://twitter.com/settings/account, if you are logged into your account. Scroll down to the bottom of the page until you see the section labeled "Your Twitter archive." The request typically takes a couple of days and will arrive as a zip file with your Tweets by month, linked back to the original Twitter page.

Twitter Account Verification

The Twitter government relations team has been working to verify official government accounts. To submit a request for verification of your agency Twitter account, the following requirements must be met:

  • You must manage a state government Twitter account
  • You must have an e-mail address that ends in .gov

Send the verification request to Twitter. Use "Twitter Verification Request" as the subject line and include the following information:

  • 2 points of contact (names and their .gov e-mail addresses)
  • Name of the Twitter account to be verified

The request will be reviewed by this team. Once your account is verified, a blue icon with a white checkmark will appear on your account page.

Links on OK.gov

In order for an agency to have its social networking or social media site linked on the state web portal, OK.gov, an agency must to sign and return a copy of the Social Networking/Social Media Agreement. You may obtain a digital copy of the agreement by contacting the OMES Service Desk - by phone at 405-521-2444 or e-mail.

The agreement must be signed by the agency director or deputy director and returned to the OMES Service Desk. If you have any questions about the agreement, please contact the OMES Service Desk - by phone at 405-521-2444 or e-mail.

Important Note: The YouTube CLA is being renegotiated. Agencies that had brand channels created under the prior terms may continue to use YouTube pending the outcome of this process. 

The National Association of Attorneys General and the National Association of State Chief Information Officers have negotiated revised Content Licensing Agreement with Google that will allow State of Oklahoma agencies to use the YouTube social media technology. The revised CLA is available by submitting a request to OMES through an online form. Details about the process are provided below.

The modifications apply to state government agencies already using YouTube, provided they go through the process of accepting the new CLA. The state has accepted the the revised CLA.

Key Documents/Online Content

Implementation

Before any Oklahoma agency may use any social media or social networking site, the agency must have such an internal social media policy developed and approved by OMES. Create the policy and email a copy to the OMES Service Desk. Guidance for creating this policy may be found in the State of Oklahoma Social Networking and Social Media Development Methodology. Before an agency may use social networking or social media technologies, OMES must approve the agency policy.

Links on OK.gov

In order for an agency to have its social networking or social media site linked on the state web portal, OK.gov, an agency must to sign and return a copy of the Social Networking/Social Media Agreement. You may obtain a digital copy of the agreement by contacting the OMES Service Desk - by phone at 405-521-2444 or e-mail. 

The agreement must be signed by the agency director or deputy director and returned to the State Chief Information Officer. If you have any questions about the agreement, please contact the OMES Service Desk - by phone at 405-521-2444 or e-mail.

Commenting Policy

This policy is a part of the State of Oklahoma Social Networking and Social Media Policy and Standards.

While state agencies are encouraged to use commenting features of social media, Web 2.0 and social networking technologies, agencies may disable this functionality if they so choose. When commenting functionality is used, all comments must be moderated by an authorized staff member trained and assigned by the state agency creating or maintaining the agency's social media, Web 2.0 or social networking presence.

State employees and elected officials of the executive branch acting in an official capacity on behalf of an agency shall act in accordance with applicable policies governing official public communications. If you are not authorized to speak to traditional media on behalf of your agency or the State of Oklahoma, then you should not speak in an official capacity for your agency or the State of Oklahoma in any social media, Web 2.0 and social networking comment.

State of Oklahoma agency content and comments containing any of the following forms of information should not be allowed for posting:

  • Comments not topically related to the particular content being commented upon;
  • Profane language or content;
  • Use of harassing language or tone;
  • Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation;
  • Obscene sexual content or links to obscene sexual content;
  • Solicitations of commerce;
  • Conduct or encouragement of illegal activity;
  • Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems;
  • Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party;
  • Promotion or opposition of any person campaigning for election to a political office or promoting or opposing any ballot proposition; and
  • Disclosure of information which an agency and its employees are required to keep confidential by law or regulation.

Content or comments of this nature found on a state agency's social networking or social media technology site, should be edited, revised or removed from the site. Only comments that comply with this standard should be approved for posting by approved state agency staff.

Communications made through the social media, Web 2.0 or social networking technology's e-mail and messaging system will in no way constitute a legal or official notice or comment to the State of Oklahoma or its agencies or any official or employee of the State of Oklahoma for any purpose.

E-mail Updates

To get the latest updates related to the state policy and standards, approved list of technologies and other documentation sent directly to your e-mail, please sign up for the Social Networking and Social Media notification group.

Last Modified on Jan 25, 2023
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Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services
2401 N Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105

 

 

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