City communications team walks youth council through social media rules and public-records cautions

City communications staff presented the city’s social media policy to the Youth Leadership Advisory Council and showed how members’ personal accounts intersect with public-records law.

Jennifer Davies, strategic communications manager, told the council that "the most important part of our policy is that you represent you and not the city when you're posting on your personal social media channels," but warned that posts about city business or council activity can nevertheless appear to represent the city and be subject to public-records requests.

Nikki Bowers, who leads organic content strategy, gave practical advice for protecting privacy and cybersecurity, urging members to use privacy settings, avoid posting confidential meeting material or screenshots, and enable two-factor authentication. She also cautioned against reposting profanity-containing lyrics, disparaging comments about protected groups, or political endorsements on channels associated with the council.

Staff led an interactive "real or risky" exercise using sample posts to show what is acceptable (event announcements, neutral reminders such as "get out and vote") and what is risky (explicit political advocacy, disparaging comments, or posts that disclose private information). Davies and Bowers emphasized special care when posting about minors and urged the council to obtain parental permission before sharing student images.

The presentation noted that posts about city business can be included in Freedom of Information Act or public-records searches and urged members to consult advisors when unsure. Staff left a written handout and offered to provide follow-up training and to help set up official council channels.