LACCRA Facebook and Twitter Social Media Policy

Purpose & Goals:
The purpose and goal of the LACCRA Board utilizing the public social media tools, Facebook and Twitter, is to promote the court reporting profession by networking with other professionals and individuals associated with and within the court reporting community. 

Facebook and Twitter will be utilized primarily to promote LACCRA Seminars, post articles relevant to court reporting and court reporting technology, bring attention to legislation that may impact the field of court reporting, and to engage the membership and the general public through productive and positive communication.

The Social Media tools shall be monitored by a Board Member Administrator appointed by the current year’s LACCRA president and up to two (2) Assistant Administrators appointed by the Board Member Administrator.  All administrators must be members of the LACCRA Public Outreach Committee.  The Board Member Administrator shall be responsible for the general oversight of the LACCRA social media sites.   Each social media site shall be checked no less than once per day for activity by the Board Member Administrator or, at the direction of the Board Member Administrator, by one of the Assistant Administrators.

Prohibited Content:
There are several types of materials that are prohibited from being posted and therefore may be removed or modified at any time and without notice.  Prohibited content includes, but is not limited to, solicitation of work, material that is abusive, profane, threatening, or defamatory; that promotes bigotry, hatred, or physical harm against any group or individual; or that harasses or advocates harassment of another person. 

Prohibited content includes any political endorsements or preferences as well as any religious affiliations whatsoever.

In the event inappropriate messages or tweets are posted and not in compliance with this social media policy, such inappropriate messages or tweets shall be removed immediately. 

Complaints received by the LACCRA office regarding content posted on either Facebook or Twitter will be brought to the attention of the Executive Committee and the Public Outreach Chair(s) immediately.

Removal of any messages by administrative staff does not represent a LACCRA position on the content of any removed messages, nor is it intended to squelch discussion. The sole purpose of removing messages is to ensure compliance with these rules and conditions.

The Board Member Administrator shall promptly bring to the LACCRA Executive Directors’ attention any complaints received regarding content.  

Content Submission:
Facebook - Only the Board Member Administrator or Assistant Administrator(s) may post new subject matter to the Facebook page.   Any member of the public may post comments to the LACCRA Facebook posts.  Any comment deemed inappropriate as outlined in these policies will be removed by the Board Member Administrator or Assistant Administrator(s) as soon as reasonably possible.

Twitter - Only the Board Member Administrator or Assistant Administrator(s) may start Twitter posts.  Twitter posts will be used to “retweet” Facebook subject matter posts as directed by the Administrators.

Board members or committee chairs may, at any time, submit requests for topic content to be posted on either Facebook or Twitter to the Board Member Administrator and/or Assistant Administrator(s).   If said request is deemed to be inappropriate by the Board Member Administrator, the requesting board member or committee chair may request a review by the LACCRA President along with the Public Outreach Committee. 

Disclaimer:
The users, and the users alone, are responsible for their comments. LACCRA makes no warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of information posted by users.  LACCRA is to be deemed not responsible as to the accuracy or reliability of information posted by users.  Users may post comments or Tweets at user’s own risk, for which LACCRA shall not be liable.

Content that violates federal or state antitrust laws or other laws prohibiting anticompetitive practices is illegal and prohibited. Comments should not be posted if they might be construed as encouraging or facilitating members in arriving at any agreement that either expressly or by implication leads to price fixing, a boycott of another's business, or other conduct intended to illegally restrict free trade. Messages that encourage or facilitate an agreement about the following subjects are inappropriate:

  • price
  • discounts, or terms or conditions of sale
  • salaries
  • profits
  • profit margins, or cost data
  • market shares
  • sales territories, or markets
  • allocation of customers or territories or
  • selection, rejection, or termination of customers or suppliers

Any discussion that might be viewed by enforcement authorities as leading to increased prices or even minimizing discounts, gifts or promotions are problematic. Even perfectly innocent discussions asking what fees (amount) reporters charge for particular services, whether they charge for a particular ancillary service or whether it is part of the basic page rate, or comments that just praise or denounce the pricing and business practices of others could be construed as a conversation intended to "encourage" or "facilitate" a conspiracy (agreement) to "fix prices," encourage a "boycott" or otherwise "illegally restrict trade."

Trade and professional associations, as groups of competitors, are under particular scrutiny with regard to pricing behavior. No express agreement or understanding is required; one can be inferred from statements or patterns of conduct gleaned from many sources, including online bulletin boards and message forums. If forced to defend ourselves, the costs in time and money to the membership and to LACCRA would be enormous, even if the user and LACCRA are eventually were cleared of wrongdoing.

Therefore, you may not post any information regarding specific prices or fees charged or paid, and you may not post information concerning prices, pricing practices, discounts, or other terms or conditions of sale either obtained from or offered to another entity. Additionally, it is a violation of federal antitrust law to advocate or organize a boycott of a vendor or customer.

Rev 12/3/13dvd