Southwest Gas External Social Media Policy

EXTERNAL POLICY
The following guidelines must be displayed to users on all social media sites.
 
POLICIES FOR USERS AND FOLLOWERS OF SOUTHWEST GAS SOCIAL MEDIA SITES
 
Section 1. General Policy Statement
Southwest Gas (“SWG”) is committed to utilizing a variety of tools to communicate effectively with the public. Social media platforms are some of the tools used by SWG.
 
SWG’S SOCIAL MEDIA SITES ARE MONITORED DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS, MONDAY-FRIDAY FROM 8AM – 5PM PST. IF YOU SUSPECT A NATURAL GAS LEAK, CALL 911 AND 877-860-6020 .
 
Section 2. Purpose of the Policy
The purpose of this policy is to provide information about content ownership and retention for those who choose to participate or follow SWG’s social media. The policies will be posted on SWG’s social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
 
Section 3. Social Media Comment and Content Moderation Policy
OUR SOCIAL MEDIA SITES SERVE AS A LIMITED PUBLIC FORUM AND ALL CONTENT PUBLISHED IS SUBJECT TO MONITORING. User-generated posts will be rejected or removed (if possible) without notice when the content meets certain criteria detailed below.
The purpose of SWG’s social media sites is to share safety messages, news, community partnerships, information, and updates regarding the activities and policies of Southwest Gas in all our service territories. However, the information and content contained on our social media sites is only intended to supplement, not replace, the information available through official SWG channels, in general, and the Southwest Gas official website at www.swgas.com.
 
SWG is not responsible for comments, remarks, messages, or other material posted to its social media sites by outside parties and does not, in any way, guarantee, ensure, or warrant the content, accuracy, or use of social media content from anyone else.
 
SWG specifically disclaims all liability for claims and damages that may result from any posting on its social media sites. Opinions expressed on our social media sites are those of the person posting and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, practices, or policies of SWG. In no event shall SWG be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on information on our social media sites.
 
By accessing, viewing and/or posting content to our social media page, you accept, without limitation or qualification, these terms and conditions of use, as well as any other terms of use required by the Company that owns and operates the social media sites. It is your responsibility to research and understand those terms. If you do not agree to the terms of this Policy, do not view or post and comment.
 
Your use of our social media sites is deemed acceptance of these terms and conditions and to have the same effect as if you had physically signed an agreement.
 
These terms and conditions are in addition to the third-party policies, terms and conditions of any social media channel (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.). SWG does not operate or control these social media sites and is subject to the terms of use for these sites by the provider. SWG does not control the terms and conditions of the social media sites provider.
 
A. Your Comments Are Public and Reviewed
Our social media sites are a public page and viewable by everyone.
Comments and shared information also become part of a public record and may be archived in order to abide with applicable laws, e-discovery requirements, and document retention policies. Information shared through our social media sites may be subject to release to those who request it through the state public information statutes. Your use of our social media sites and the posting of any content is deemed a waiver by you of any rights to privacy or confidentiality.
 
Please be aware that we review all comments after you post them. Because the sites are visible to all ages, we expect persons who leave comments to do so with respect, good manners, and careful thought of who might be seeing them. Consistent with the purpose of this Limited Public Forum, we reserve the right to moderate, monitor, remove, prohibit, restrict, suspend, terminate, delete, discontinue or reject comments and access to comments when the content:
  • is off-subject or out of context, inappropriate, in poor taste, or otherwise contrary to the purposes of our sites or the business of SWG
  • is hateful or discriminatory regarding or comments that promote, foster, or perpetuate discrimination of harassment on the basis of race, age, creed, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, political beliefs, or a protected class under local, State, or Federal law
  • links or comments containing sexually explicit content or sexual material
  • contains profanity or obscenity, or is pornographic, abusive, threatening, racist, defamatory, offensive or contains violent language
  • is trolling (posts that are deliberately offensive, provocative, or disruptive and intended to hijack our content, deflect our information off-track, upset someone or create angry responses from employees or other visitors)
  • is solicitation of commerce
  • has messages that are a violation of existing law or regulation
  • violates of the intellectual property rights of others
  • is an attempt to impersonate any person
  • is spam (unsolicited messages that are usually intended as advertising or messages that are repeatedly posted on the same sites)
  • attacks or calls-to-action for attacks on specific groups
  • is intended to harass, threaten or abuse an individual or are defamatory, derogatory, or are personal attacks on any SWG official, employee, resident, or businessperson
  • links to malicious software or sites
  • is cyber-stalking or threats to an individual or organization, or intended to collect or post private information and data without disclosure (e.g., doxxing)
  • relates to confidential, private, or proprietary information
  • is self-promotion
  • is solicitation of funds
  • is unsolicited business proposals and inquiries
  • Is reports of criminal or suspicious activity (Please contact your local police agency directly with this type of information)
  • encourages illegal or unlawful activity
  • any form of legal and/or administrative notices or processes
  • posts not in compliance with our social media host's own terms and conditions
  • posts that attempt to or do take over a thread in ways that are contrary to these terms and conditions (including random or unintelligible posts)
 
The above list is not exhaustive, and SWG reserves the right to remove or restrict any post or comment that violates the purpose or spirit of these terms and conditions. Individuals who comment or post to our social media sites and who repeatedly violate these terms and conditions may, among other actions, be banned, prohibited from posting future comments, or be reported to the social media provider.
 
If you want your comments to remain posted, please ensure that you comply with this policy. While comments may be posted at any time because of the nature of social media, we will review and screen comments during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
 
Information contained on our social media sites may be intercepted, recorded, read, copied, and disclosed by and to authorized personnel for any official purpose, including criminal investigations. Unauthorized access or use of our social media sites, including attempting unauthorized copying, altering, destroying, or damaging sites content may violate the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and may subject violators to criminal, civil, and/or administrative action.
 
B. Privacy
Do not include personally identifiable information in the body of your social media comments. This is for your own protection and privacy.
 
C. Endorsements
SWG does not endorse commercial entities, products, services, or other non-governmental organizations or individuals through social media. Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or non-governmental organizations or individuals are solely for informational purposes or posted by the social media provider.
 
D. Our Comments Are Not Legal Advice and Your Comments Are Not Official Notice
Postings, interactions, and messages made through social media sites do not constitute legal advice. Likewise, anything you post is not considered an official notice or comment to SWG or to any official or to any of our employees for any purpose. SWG disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, for any of the information and content provided in its social media sites. You can contact Southwest Gas by visiting www.swgas.com or by calling 877-860-6020 .
 
E. You May Own Your Comments but We Can Use Them
You own the original content of all the comments, content, messages, and similar information that you post on our social media sites (subject to any terms or conditions of the social media provider). You are responsible for how you control the sharing of that content through the privacy and application settings of the social media provider.
 
By posting on our social media sites, you grant SWG a nonexclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use that content and specifically authorize SWG to use its discretion in said publication. That means you do not retain any rights over submitted postings, because content publication becomes the property of SWG. SWG can reproduce, distribute, publish, display, and otherwise use your content. If you do not wish to have the content you have posted used, published, copied and/or reprinted, please do not post on our social media pages.
 
F. Advertisement and Link Disclaimer
The information provided on our social media sites and any links or references thereon are provided as a courtesy to our visitors. SWG does not endorse, recommend, nor approve of any person, any product, or any service mentioned on our social media sites nor referenced or contained on any other websites or social media page. SWG does not endorse nor support any advertising that may be contained on its social media sites nor on any of the pages of any linked or referenced sites.
 
SWG does not generally link to the following:
  • Corporate commercial sites. Please note that non-profit organizations may include links to member or sponsor organizations. However, such links are not an endorsement or recommendation SWG.
  • Personal home pages.
 
External links may be provided at times and are posted only as additional information or resource material. SWG does not attest to the accuracy of information provided by any links. Should you access other sites through a link, you are subject to that destination site's own privacy policy and terms of use.
 
G. Intellectual Property Use
Images, photographs, written works and graphics posted by SWG on our social media sites, unless otherwise noted, are the property of SWG and are protected under both United States and International Copyright Laws. City images, photographs, written works, and graphics may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted, or manipulated without the written permission of SWG. Use of any image or content from our social media sites as the basis for any other, literary writing, photograph, or illustration (in any format) is a violation of the United States and International Copyright laws.
 
H. Indemnification
By using our social media sites, you agree that you must defend, indemnify, and hold SWG and its officers, directors, employees, contractors, representatives, agents, successors, and assigns harmless from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, settlements, costs, and liabilities of any nature whatsoever (including reasonable attorneys' fees) to which they may become subject and which arise out of, are based upon, are as a result of, or are in any way connected with your use of our social media sites, including any third-party claims of infringement or any breach of these terms and conditions.

I. Jurisdiction
By using our social media sites, you agree that any claim or dispute relating to the posting of any content on our social media sites shall be construed in accordance with the laws of our service areas – the State of California, the State of Nevada and the State of Arizona – without regard to its conflict of laws provisions, and you agree to be bound and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the State and Federal courts which have jurisdiction.
 
J. This Policy Is Subject to Amendment
This policy may be updated or amended at any time without notice. Each time you access or use our social media sites, the policy then in place at the time of such access or use will govern your usage and posting.
 
 
Section 4. Social Media Content Ownership Policy
For guidance:
“You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings.” “[Y]ou grant [Facebook] a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.”
 
“You retain your rights to any Content you submit, post or display on or through the Services.”
“By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through the Services, you grant [Twitter] a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute such Content in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed).”
 
“For clarity, you retain all of your ownership rights in your Content.”
“[B]y submitting Content to YouTube, you hereby grant YouTube a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub licensable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform the Content in connection with the Service and YouTube's (and its successors' and affiliates') business, including without limitation for promoting and redistributing part or all of the Service (and derivative works thereof) in any media formats and through any media channels.”
 
“As between you and LinkedIn, you own the content and information that you submit or post to the Services and you are only granting LinkedIn the following non-exclusive license: A worldwide, transferable and sublicensable right to use, copy, modify, distribute, publish, and process, information and content that you provide through our Services, without any further consent, notice and/or compensation to you or others.”
 
“We do not claim ownership of your content, but you grant us a license to use it...”
 
“… when you share, post, or upload content that is covered by intellectual property rights (like photos or videos) on or in connection with our Service, you hereby grant to us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivative works of your content (consistent with your privacy and application settings).”
 
Section 5. Social Media Retention Policy
Social media pages operated by SWG are subject to local jurisdictions’ Public Records Act. Any content maintained in a social media format that is related to SWG business, including author’s name or IP address, posted communication, and communication submitted for posting, may be a public record subject to public disclosure. All such content must be retained with the Public Records Act and SWG’s document retention policy.
 
Section 6. ADA Policy
SWG has attempted to design its online public activities accessible to and by everyone. We have made every effort to ensure our sites’ compatibility with commonly used assistive technologies. We will continue to maintain our websites in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act to every extent reasonably possible.
 
Section 7. Copyright and DMCA Policy 
Images, photographs, written works and graphics used by SWG on our websites and social media sites, unless otherwise noted, are the property of SWG and are protected under both United States and International Copyright Laws. SWG images, photographs, written works and graphics may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without the written permission of SWG. Use of any image or content from our social media sites as the basis for any other, literary writing, photograph or illustration (in any format) is a violation of the United States and International Copyright laws.
 
We may temporarily remove or disable access to the material that is the subject of inquiry and until a resolution or determination is reached. We will make a good faith effort to contact the owner or creator of any questioned content so that they may make a counter notification pursuant to sections 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(2) and (3) of the DMCA.
 
Some content on our websites or in a social media context may be posted according to the “fair use” doctrine of copyright law for non-commercial news reporting, education and discussion purposes.
 
DMCA Agent Designation Form
A notice of claimed infringement delivered to our Designated Agent must include the following (pursuant to 17 USC §512 (c)(3)(A)):
 
  • A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
  • Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that sites;
  • Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of the infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to help us locate the material;
  • Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted;
  • A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
  • A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
  • SWG will comply with the appropriate provisions of the DMCA in the event that a counter notification is received by our Designated Agent.