Social Media Policy

SUNY Plattsburgh encourages the appropriate use of social media as a method for communicating ideas and information to the public and for receiving responses and commentary from the public in support of the educational mission of the college and its campuses.

Faculty & Staff social media usage:

• Faculty and staff will refrain from posting any identifying information or student work subject to FERPA restrictions.
• Members of the campus community are encouraged to remember that social media activities are, by definition, visible to others and may be shared in unpredictable ways with unintended audiences. In cases where personal and professional boundaries are blurred, college employees are encouraged to exercise discretion.
• Actions or statements over social media with a nexus to state employment may be governed by SUNY policy.
• Personal use of social media on personal time is not governed by this policy. Personal use of social media on state time is governed by the New York State Public Officers Law and other federal, state, and local laws; the State University of New York Acceptable Use Policy as issued by the Office of Administrative Systems; SUNY Human Resources policies; and the SUNY Plattsburgh Responsible Use of Technology policy. The substance of these policies is that personal use of social media should be reserved for personal time. 

Official SUNY Plattsburgh social media channel usage:

• Content and information released on social media is equivalent in stature to content and information released to the press and the public in any other format. It is therefore subject to review, revision, or removal at the request of the Office of marketing of the Office of the President.
• Content and information released to the public over social media should be accurate and comply with all applicable laws (including, but not limited to, copyright, trademark, privacy statutes, accessibility standards, and defamation law) and the policies of SUNY Plattsburgh and the SUNY System.
• On social media platforms that allow only one official presence per institution, the Office of Marketing will be the campus office tasked with ownership and maintenance of the college's presence.
• The Office of Marketing may choose to allow administrative access to social media platforms to other employees as needed, but Marketing remains as the owner of these platforms and retains responsibility.
• The Office of the President utilizes college social media platforms directly under circumstances related to its communications function, including news, emergency, weather, community relations and similar matters.
• The use of social media will adhere to the SUNY Plattsburgh graphic standards, writing and usage guide, and web standards, which collectively govern proper use of the college logo, seal, name, tag line, and other elements of the college's branding.
• Usage of social media is governed by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides a safe harbor for Internet Service Providers and Web sites for activity that takes place on said sites, provided that the site or domain takes certain actions when legally required. 

Interacting with official SUNY Plattsburgh social media channels:

• The college reserves the right to remove posts or comments that are obscene, defamatory, offensive, threatening, abusive, spam, advertising in nature or are unrelated to the content under discussion. SUNY Plattsburgh also reserves the right to remove posts or comments that interfere with individuals' dignity and rights to privacy; violate applicable laws including, but not limited to, copyright and trademark; or those that violate the use policies promulgated by the applicable social media provider.
• The college will act to protect its intellectual property, including official marks and copyrighted material, from misuse or abuse.
• The college will act to prevent any person or group from misrepresenting their affiliation to the college.