Social media

Braintree District Councils social media channels are here to share updates, information and advice on our services and those of our partners across the Braintree district. This page explains how we help keep our channels safe, respectful and supportive spaces.  

You can find a list of all our verified social media accounts on our website.  

These house rules set out what you can expect from us, and what we expect from you in return to ensure our social media accounts remain safe, positive and welcoming spaces for all. We are here to help and inform and will do so politely and professionally. All we ask is that you treat each other and us the same way. 

By interacting with the Council on social media, you are agreeing to comply with our house rules. Remember, you must also comply with the social media platform’s terms of use as well. 

Our active hours  

We monitor and update our social media channels Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays).  

We may post content or respond occasionally outside these hours. 

We’ll do our best to respond to any direct message enquiries within one working day. We’ll try to help you or direct you to people and/or departments who can, wherever possible. 

Although we read all comments on our social media posts, we cannot always respond to every comment, either because not all comments require a response or due to volume of comments made. Even if we do not reply, we are listening and will act on or pass on your comments to departments as appropriate. 

We do not intend the media or politicians to use our social media platforms to contact us. Any contact should be directly with the Council for established channels. 

Creating a positive space  

We welcome comments and engagement on our posts and want to provide a space where residents can share views, ask questions, provide constructive criticism and discuss ideas. We recognise different posts may prompt different opinions and we want to ensure our social media community is a positive and safe place.  

Please treat us and other users with kindness and respect - we are all human. 

We need to make sure our social media accounts are safe, appropriate and factually informative spaces so we will not tolerate any online hate, abuse or bullying.  

If we feel that a comment oversteps the mark, we may remove comments or take further action where content (including text, imagery or video) includes: 

• abuse, harassment, defamation, or threatening behaviour 

• hate speech or discriminatory language based on race, religion, gender, sexuality, or other personal characteristics 

• bullying, intimidation or name-calling directed at staff, members, or other platform users 

• sharing personal information such as addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses 

• promotion of illegal activity  

• misinformation or deliberately misleading comments 

• spam, advertising, or repeated posts 

• impersonation or false allegations about staff or members 

• off topic or disruptive comments 

• content that violates any law or regulation, including libel or copyright infringement 

• party political messages or campaign content. 

If we remove content, we will try to explain why content that breaches the above rules may be hidden, deleted, reported to the associated social media platform or result in users being blocked if they repeatedly break these house rules.  

We may keep records (such as screenshots) of any offending post, comment, or message in accordance with our privacy notice.  

We also reserve the right to contact the police. We will not tolerate or respond to abusive messages. 

We use automated profanity filters to moderate specific inflammatory or derogatory language. Anything in breach of this will be automatically hidden. As standard, we want to encourage dialogue on our posts however, at our discretion we may disable comments where necessary to protect the public and our employees. 

Neutrality  

We must remain politically neutral at all times on social media which is why council officers are unable to reply to, endorse or engage with, any content that is of a party political nature. We will remove any comments on our page that, we think compromise our political neutrality. If you wish to discuss political issues, please contact your local councillor.  

During pre-election periods, we apply even stricter neutrality and may remove or not respond to content that could be seen as politically controversial. 

Likes, follows and shares 

We sometimes follow, like or share content we think is of interest or benefit to our residents and customers, but this does not mean that we endorse the originating person or organisation.  

Unless we state otherwise, the views and comments on any of our social media sites do not necessarily reflect our views. 

Complaints 

Social media is not our complaints channel. Complaints to the Council can be made through an online form on the Council's website.  

Staff use of social media 

Some Braintree District Council staff use personal social media accounts. Their views represent their own opinions and do not reflect the official position of Braintree District Council. 

Updates to these rules 

We may update these house rules from time to time to reflect changes in policy or best practice.