Get Cyber Safe's Facebook Protocol

This protocol describes how Public Safety's Get Cyber Safe campaign communicates with Canadians using Facebook.

This protocol applies to the Get Cyber Safe and Pensez cyber sécurité pages listed above. Any other account or page on Facebook bearing the campaign's brand, name or likeliness is not an official Get Cyber Safe or Public Safety Canada account.

Content

Get Cyber Safe's Facebook accounts promotes a national awareness campaign created to educate Canadians about Internet security and the simple steps they can take to protect themselves online. The campaign's goal is to bring together all levels of government, the public and private sectors, and the international community, to help Canadians be safer online.

Users of, and those who “like” the Get Cyber Safe pages can expect to see tips on remaining safe online, alerts about ongoing scams and malware attacks, useful data for various audience groups such as youth and small business owners, and content shared from our partners in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

The use of Facebook by Get Cyber Safe / Public Safety is intended to encourage interaction between the Canadian users Facebook and Get Cyber Safe, and in no way verifies or confirms either the accuracy of user comments or their compliance with the requirements outlined here. Get Cyber Safe – Public Safety does not endorse any of the views in comments posted by users. Comments in violation of these requirements may result in Public Safety officers deleting the comment, reporting the user to Facebook, and blocking the user in question to prevent further inappropriate comments.

We look forward to sharing information with you, but we always encourage you to Getcybersafe.gc.ca for more information on staying cyber safe.

Links to Other Websites and Advertisements

From time to time the Get Cyber Safe Facebook pages may post or display links for websites that are not under the control of Public Safety or the Government of Canada. These links are provided solely for the convenience of the users. Public Safety is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or reliability of the content on these sites nor does it endorse the sites, businesses/products/services and/or their content.

Availability

The accounts are managed between 8:00-17:00 EST Monday to Friday, excluding holidays. Get Cyber Safe's Facebook pages are subject to downtime that is out of Public Safety's control, because Facebook servers are managed by a third party. As such, we do not accept any responsibility for the network becoming unresponsive or unavailable.

In the event that our Facebook channels are unavailable or unresponsive, you may access Get Cyber Safe content on its website.

Use of "Like"

Get Cyber Safe's Facebook pages are open to the public, so any Facebook user with Internet access can view the content posted and "like" it. This will result in the content from Get Cyber Safe showing in the user's newsfeed.

Use of "Share"

Get Cyber Safe may share relevant material posted by its partners that are deemed relevant or interesting on its Facebook pages. This may include research findings, statistics, relevant events and thematically suitable information.

Comments and Feedback

Feedback and interaction about Get Cyber Safe is highly encouraged. All posts and comments will be read. Although we are not able to reply individually to all messages, they will be handled on a case-by-case basis and responded to when deemed appropriate.

If we feel a comment or a question posed to the pages requires a response with a greater level of detail, we may develop a formal response and distribute the information through other channels such as our website or other social media channels. We will pay attention to emerging themes and helpful suggestions and look forward to this potential interaction.

Media are asked to contact Public Safety Canada at 613-991-0657 and refrain from submitting questions on Facebook.

Please keep in mind that Get Cyber Safe will not tolerate comments that are offensive to an individual or an organization, rude in tone, or abusive. We will take steps to remove comments or block users if they do not abide by this Protocol. We do not discriminate against any views but we reserve the right to edit or remove any comments that are:

Users may also be reported to Facebook if they do not comply with Facebook's Terms of Use.

Accessibility

Get Cyber Safe, as a part of Public Safety Canada and by extension the Government of Canada, is committed to achieving a high standard of accessibility. Facebook is a third party service provider and is therefore not bound by Government of Canada policies for web accessibility.

For more information on accessibility on Facebook please visit: http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=440.

Copyright

Information posted by Get Cyber Safe on its Facebook pages is subject to the Copyright Act of Canada. Further, Get Cyber Safe has exclusive licencing arrangements with Stop.Think.Connect, therefore using the partner's campaign content is fully within the rights of Get Cyber Safe.

Official Languages

Get Cyber Safe respects the Official Languages Act and is committed to ensuring that information products of equal quality are available in both English and French.

Posts will be published near-simultaneously in both official languages—in English on the Get Cyber Safe page and in French on the Pensez cyber sécurité page. Messages and comments that require a response will be answered in the official language of origin. Any comments of value that originate from Get Cyber Safe will be made available in both official languages when it concerns both English and French communities.

Users should be aware that some links direct users to sites of organizations or other entities that are not subject to the Official Languages Act and that these sources are only available in the language in which they are written. These links are provided solely for your convenience and Get Cyber Safe is not responsible for the information found through them.

Facebook.com is available in multiple languages including English and French. To change this user preference, go in your account settings and adjust accordingly.

Privacy

Get Cyber Safe is committed to respecting the privacy of individuals, but its Facebook pages are not Government of Canada websites and represent our presence on a third-party service provider. Users are encouraged to read Facebook's Privacy Policy.

Information shared with Get Cyber Safe on Facebook is subject to the provisions of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, which means that the information may be accessed and disclosed in response to a request under either of these acts.

Get Cyber Safe / Public Safety will not collect or record the conversations or comments posted to the Facebook pages. The department will collect information on the number of likes, shares, poll responses, and conversations, and the volume of and sentiment of comments. This information will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Get Cyber Safe Facebook pages, and help the department make decisions for future content and design.

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, Get Cyber Safe recommends that you do not include personal information in your comments or other content you post. Personal information includes home addresses and telephone numbers, photographs containing images of identifiable individuals, and any other information consisting of personal information.

Additional Information

If you are looking for more information about Public Safety Canada, responsible for Getcybersafe.gc.ca , please consult the departmental website at www.publicsafety.gc.ca.

If you have questions about this policy, please contact social.media@ps-sp.gc.ca

Contact Information

Questions and requests for general information on the programs, services and other initiatives of Public Safety Canada should be directed the Public Enquiries team.

Members of the media who have inquiries on any program area or issue are invited to contact the Media Relations team at Public Safety Canada at 613-991-0657.

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