Connecticut Senate Republican Caucus Social Media & Web Policy
The Connecticut Senate Republican Caucus has established this policy for guidance on proper usage of social media and the web by employees and the public for all Caucus and Senator accounts, effective January 1, 2024. This policy applies to, but is not limited to, platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, Snapchat, WordPress, and Wikipedia.
The Caucus and individual Senator social media accounts seek to provide constituents with important and transparent information about legislative, community-specific, and newsworthy matters, while actively engaging in meaningful online conversations about state, local, and constituent affairs to build trust and rapport among Connecticut residents
The Caucus has adopted the following rules in accordance with federal court precedent regarding posting, comments, and etiquette on social media platforms. Comments, posts, or online behavior violating this policy, are subject to disciplinary action for employees and reporting or comment removal for the public.
The Connecticut Senate Republican Caucus reserves the right to uphold the following social media and web policy:
- Comments posted by the public on Caucus or Senator accounts that are deemed graphic, obscene, explicit, abusive, threatening, hateful, sexual in nature, intentionally libelous, slanderous, defamatory, demonstrably false, or incite criminal acts or illegal behavior are subject to removal and being reported to the social media platform and/or local law enforcement. This includes comments that discriminate against anyone based on sex, race, creed, religious views, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability.
- Individuals should not be blocked from accessing a social media account, as it is a public forum.
- Employees of the Senate Republican Caucus will be held accountable for libelous, slanderous, defamatory, or knowingly false statements that may cause reputational damage to the Caucus or its’ Senators.
- The Caucus does not allow or condone the posting of fake blogs, stories, or comments regarding or on behalf of the Caucus, Senators, or staff.
- The Caucus does not allow any solicitations, outside advertisements, prize contests, or giveaways to be posted.
- The social media and web policy is not designed to inhibit any individual’s rights under the First Amendment. The Connecticut Senate Republican Caucus understands that individuals may use social media to express personal opinions and experiences and recognizes this freedom. However, we encourage constituents, Senators, and employees to be respectful and ethical. Under no circumstances will a comment be deleted on a social media account due to viewpoint discrimination.
- The public should be aware that all posts to the Caucus and Senator’s social media accounts are viewable by other members of the general public. Please do not post sensitive personally identifiable information, such as social security numbers, phone numbers, and home addresses, or private information about ongoing investigations or legal or administrative proceedings.
- Employees must follow the Senate Republican Caucus brand guidelines when creating web or social media content. Individuals or organizations seeking to use the Senate Republican Caucus logo, photos, videos, or other content owned by the Caucus must have prior permission for each use.
Disclaimer:
Individuals who violate the terms and conditions outlined in this document may be held accountable for their words and actions. This includes disciplinary action as deemed necessary by the Connecticut Senate Republican Caucus.