Social Media Policy

At the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District), we are driven to help residents choose actions that will improve air quality and make the Bay Area a healthier, more enjoyable place to live. It is important for us to alert the community when air quality is forecast to be unhealthy and to share information on ways to reduce air pollution through the Spare the Air program. Our social media channels are a source of news and information related to Spare the Air and for air quality incidents and events.

We consider our social media channels to be moderated online discussion sites. Any comments or responses on our social media channels that are not posted by the Air District come from members of the public. Public comments expressed on our social media sites do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Air District, its management, or employees.

Social media submissions that will be removed may include, but are not limited to, posts that contain:

• Abusive, harassing, stalking, or threatening language
• Profanity or profane material, including violent, obscene, hateful, graphic, or threatening comments
• Hateful language targeting race/ethnicity, age, color, creed, religion, gender, sexual preference or orientation, nationality, or political beliefs
• Language that fosters or perpetuates discrimination or promotes harassment such as personal attacks, bullying, or sexual harassment
• Fraudulent, deceptive, libelous, misleading, or unlawful information
• References to criminal or illegal activity
• Solicitation or promotion of goods, services, advertisements, donations, or endorsements
• Promotion of political candidates or organizations
• Violations of any intellectual property rights
• Medical advice or language that could be perceived as medical advice
• SPAM
• Software viruses or any other computer code or files that are designed to disrupt, damage, or limit the functionality of any software or hardware, or that interferes with the operation of the social media channels.

We enjoy getting to know our community and want to hear from you. We encourage comments, questions, mentions, and feedback. We try to respond to comments or messages as soon as possible, but we do not guarantee a response. We ask that you stay on topic, respect other people’s opinions, and avoid offensive statements or engaging in activity that might violate our standard terms and conditions. As a result, we reserve the right to remove any comment at any time that we deem, at our sole discretion, to be in violation of this Social Media Policy. If you have a specific or important request or question, please contact us at (415) 749-4900.

Social media platforms may require you to submit personally identifiable information to register for or post on social media accounts used to interact with the Air District. Information posted on Air District social media pages, including the name and photo of the user, is available to anyone who accesses those pages. To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, you may not want to include more information than is necessary, such as your full name, phone numbers, email addresses, social security number, or any other sensitive, publicly identifiable information in your comments or responses. The Air District archives this data and maintains this data in accordance with privacy laws, but is not responsible for information posted on publicly available pages.

If you post content on our channels or tag us in your content, we may like or share on our Spare the Air social media channels. Although we may link to an article or third-party site, or tag another profile in our posts, it does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of their organization or the content.

We reserve the right to modify or change our Social Media Policy at any time.