U.S. Department of State Social Media Terms of Use
(The same Terms of Use apply to Facebook and all U.S. Mission to NATO social media properties)
1 Acceptance of Terms
Welcome to U.S. Mission to NATO! The U.S. Department of State provides this service to you, subject to the following Terms of Use (“TOU”), which may be updated by the Department of State from time to time without notice. By using U.S. Mission to NATO social media properties, you are accepting these TOU and agreeing to be bound by them, including the provision that you, not the Department of State, are entirely responsible for all material you post or otherwise make available via the site. You can review the current version of the TOU at any time on this page.
2 Purpose
The purpose of U.S. Mission to NATO is to provide our social media properties’ visitors with the most up-to-date information. We expect critical discussion and debate, which might include both support and criticism of U.S. policy. However, disrespectful or malicious statements about other individuals or groups are not acceptable.
3 Description of service
Users must adhere to Facebook Terms of Service.
Users must also adhere to:
- S. Mission’s website Privacy Policy
- Twitter Terms of Service
- Instagram Terms of Use
- YouTube Terms of Service
U.S. Mission to NATO operates on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube platforms. The platforms provide their members with a variety of features, including but not limited to: video and photo sharing, notifications of developments at the U.S. Mission to NATO, activities, etc. The U.S. Department of State reserves the right to alter the types of features that U.S. Mission to NATO provides at any time with no notice to network members.
4 Social Media Platforms’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Social media platforms have their own Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, of which you should be aware, and which can be found at the links above.
Please note that Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube maintain that by using these platforms you are agreeing to be bound by their Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The U.S. Department of State will not be responsible if you violate the platforms requirements. You share content on the site at your own risk. Although these platforms may allow you to set privacy options that limit access to your information, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. Further, neither the U.S. Department of State nor the platforms can control the actions of other Users with whom you share your profile and information. Therefore, the U.S. Department of State cannot and does not guarantee that user content you post on the site will not be used improperly or viewed by other individuals.
5 Security
Participation in U.S. Mission to NATO social media properties is voluntary. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login, and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your login. You should immediately notify the platform of any unauthorized use of your login or account or any other breach of security. You agree that the U.S. Department of State is not liable in any way for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with this Section. See TOU of platforms for additional information on their security practices.
6 Member conduct
You understand that all information, data, messages, or other materials (“Content”), whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, are the sole responsibility of the person from which such Content originated. This means that you, and not the U.S. Department of State, are entirely responsible for all Content that you post, email, transmit or otherwise make available via the site. The U.S. Department of State does not control the Content posted except as described below and, as such, does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such Content. You understand that by using the Service, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent, or objectionable. Under no circumstances will the U.S. Department of State be liable in any way for any Content, including, but not limited to, for any errors or omissions in any Content, or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available via the site.
You agree to not use the site to:
- post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
- post or otherwise make available threats of violence or harm to any individual or group; obscene, vulgar, or lewd material; fraudulent statements; terms commonly understood to constitute profanity or abusive or degrading slurs or epithets;
- harm minors in any way;
- impersonate any actual person, entity, corporation, government or representative thereof;
- forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any Content transmitted through the site;
- post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements);
- post or otherwise make available any Content that you do not have a right to make available, including but not limited to material restricted by intellectual property or other proprietary rights, material that is classified or otherwise legally protected, or material protected by contractual or fiduciary obligations;
- post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights (“Rights”) of any party;
- post or otherwise make available information about yourself or other individuals that could be misused, such as for identity theft, including visa application information (this restriction is intended to protect you and others)
- post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation;
- post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
- disrupt the normal flow of dialogue or otherwise act in a manner that negatively affects other users’ ability to engage in exchanges;
- interfere with or disrupt the site or servers or networks connected to the site, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the site;
- intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law;
- stalk or otherwise harass another individual or group; or
- collect or store personal data about other users.
You agree not to use any portion of the site for commercial gain, including its Content, the use of the site, or access to the site, including by commercially reproducing, duplicating, copying, selling, or reselling.
7 State Department Content Management
The U.S. Department of State does not endorse any user-posted Content or otherwise suggest or guarantee the accuracy, integrity, or quality of such Content. You understand that by visiting this site, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent, or objectionable. You agree that under no circumstances is the U.S. Department of State liable in any way for any non-Department-generated Content (including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any Content), or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available via the site.
You acknowledge that the U.S. Department of State does not pre-screen all Content, but that the U.S. Department of State and its designees shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to edit, delete, refuse, or move any Content that is available via the site. Without limiting the foregoing, the U.S. Department of State and its designees shall have the right to remove any Content that violates the TOU or is otherwise objectionable. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any Content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such Content.
You acknowledge and agree that the U.S. Department of State may keep a record of users’ violations of these TOU in order to detect patterns of such violations and to ensure that the community remains an open forum for dialogue.
You acknowledge and agree that the U.S. Department of State may preserve Content and may also disclose Content if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce the TOU; (c) respond to claims that any Content violates the rights of third-parties; (d) comply with Department records retention policies; or (e) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of the State Department, its employees, the Department’s online community members, and/or the public. The Department of State may report violent or threatening content to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
You understand that the technical processing and transmission of the site, including your Content, may involve (a) transmissions over various networks; and (b) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices.
You agree that the State Department has no responsibility or liability for the deletion of or failure to store any messages and other communications or other Content maintained or transmitted by the site.
8 Special admonitions for international use
You agree to accept responsibility for all personal conduct associated with your use of this site, including all content posted or otherwise made available by you. You must evaluate and bear all risks associated with the transmission or use of Content on this site and U.S. Mission to NATO social media platforms. Compliance with these TOU and with platforms’ terms does not guarantee compliance with local and national laws of the country in which you reside. The U.S. Government and Department of State cannot protect individual users from the consequences of violations of the laws of other nations.
9 Intellectual Property Rights to Content Submitted or Made Available for Inclusion on the Site
The U.S. Department of State does not claim ownership of Content you submit or make available for inclusion on the site. The Department does not take responsibility for the inclusion of third-party links or other third party content such as articles.
Unless the Content explicitly states otherwise, all user-generated content uploaded to this site is provided pursuant to, and accompanied by, a restricted license as follows: user-generated content that is uploaded to the site will not be used for commercial purposes; no derivative works will be made; and full attribution will be given. This license is valid internationally. You specifically agree that you are providing your Content pursuant to this license to the State Department. You agree that your use of other users’ Content will be in accordance with this license.
U.S. Government-generated posted Content, however, may be used or reproduced, provided that it is not used for commercial gain. The U.S. Department of State has an agreement with the Associated Press (AP) which allows the use of copyrighted AP images on the U.S. Department of State’s social media sites. The AP maintains ownership and copyright for these images, and the use of them by the State Department does not enter them into the public domain. You agree not to copy, download, or redistribute any AP image found on this or any other State Department social media site.
10 Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold the U.S. Department of State, and its affiliates, officers, agents, grantees or other partners, and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of Content you submit, post, transmit or make available through the site, your use of the site, your connection to the site, your violation of the TOU, or any rights of a third party and to compensate them for reasonable attorneys’ fees in connection with such claims or demands.
11 Modifications to Service
The U.S. Department of State reserves the right at any time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the community (or any part thereof). You agree that the State Department shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the community. You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes, any portion of the site, use of the site, or access to the site.
12 General practices regarding use and storage
You acknowledge that the U.S. Department of State may establish general practices and limits concerning use of the site/platforms, including without limitation the maximum number of days that message board postings or other uploaded Content will be retained by the site, and the maximum number of times (and the maximum duration for which) you may access the site in a given period of time. You agree that the U.S. Department of State has no responsibility or liability for the deletion or failure to store any messages and other communications or other Content maintained or transmitted by the site. You further acknowledge that the U.S. Department of State reserves the right to change these general practices and limits at any time, in its sole discretion.
13 Modifications to service
The U.S. Department of State reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the site (or any part thereof). You agree that the U.S. Department of State shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuance of the site.
14 Termination
You agree that the U.S. Department of State, in its sole discretion, may terminate your access to the site, and remove and discard any Content within the site, for any reason, including, without limitation, for lack of use or if the U.S. Department of State believes that you have violated or acted inconsistently with the letter or spirit of the TOU. The U.S. Department of State may also in its sole discretion and at any time discontinue providing the site, or any part thereof. You agree that any termination of your access to the site under any provision of this TOU may be effected without prior notice, and acknowledge and agree that the U.S. Department of State may immediately suspend your access to the site. Further, you agree that the U.S. Department of State shall not be liable to you or any third-party for any termination of your access to the site.
15 Links to External Sites
U.S. Mission to NATO or Facebook or any other social media platform may provide, or third parties may provide, links to other websites or resources. You acknowledge and agree that the U.S. Department of State is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any Content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. You further acknowledge and agree that the U.S. Department of State shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such Content, goods or services available on or through any such site or resource.
Facebook, other social media platforms, or other websites may contain links to other websites. The U.S. Department of State is not responsible for the privacy practices of other web sites. You are encouraged to be aware when you leave our site to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects personally identifiable information.
16 Accessibility
All U.S. Department of State content available on this site will be compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which addresses the accessibility of content to persons with disabilities, “unless an undue burden would be imposed on the department or agency.”
17 English Language
In order to assure that members adhere to the TOU, the language of the U.S. Mission to NATO site and social media platforms is in English. Content posted in languages other than English may be subject to removal. An accurate translation into English must be provided if a member chooses to post content in other languages.
18 Terms of Use, Notices and Revisions
We reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use at any time. If we make changes, we will post them and inform the community of the changes. If we make significant changes to this policy, we will notify you through notice on our home page. We encourage you to refer to this policy on an ongoing basis so that you understand our current privacy policy.
19 Contacting the Web Site
If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please contact the U.S. Mission to NATO at usnatopa@gmail.com.