This Social Media Policy applies to current and former clients of Portage, whether or not they have completed the program.
Clients who are currently residents of Portage do not have access to social media. However, when these clients leave the residential environment, whether on a temporary or a permanent basis, they must comply with the requirements set out below when interacting on social media. These requirements also apply to external (non-residential) clients.
This policy applies to all Portage clients. It governs the use of social media platforms with respect to the organisation and its employees, clients and volunteers. Former clients remain bound by this social media policy.
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to raise clients’ awareness about the proper use of social media and to equip them to use such media accordingly. The policy also:
• Seeks to ensure the privacy and protect the confidential information of clients, employees, volunteers and the organisation;
• Informs clients about their responsibilities regarding their social media profiles, as they pertain to their experience at Portage;
• Seeks to protect Portage's brand name and credibility;
• Creates a social media environment that seeks to prevent abuse and respect individual rights and freedoms.
Responsibility to not identify other Portage clients
Portage will never identify a social media user as one of its clients, but each person has the right to identify themselves as such if they so choose and to publish information on their own experience at Portage, provided they do not identify other clients.
Responsibility of users
To prevent the misuse of social media, it is the responsibility of all Portage clients who use social media to:
• Read and understand the principles of good conduct outlined in this social media policy, and refer to them as needed;
• Respect and abide by these principles of good conduct;
• Advise the Communications Department of any situation deemed to violate these principles;
• Read and understand Portage's Information Asset Security Policy, its Code of Ethics and its Rules of Conduct.
Portage clients and former clients are prohibited from:
• Disclosing personal information about Portage clients on social media whether that information identifies the individual directly or indirectly. This includes videos, audio, pictures, written posts, and any other content that could identify a client;
• Disclosing personal information about Portage employees or volunteers or identifying them as such outside of Portage’s official platforms, without obtaining the prior consent of the person concerned. This includes videos, audio, pictures, written posts, and any other content that could identify the individual;
• Making derogatory, hurtful, offensive or defamatory comments about another Portage client or about a Portage employee or volunteer on social media;
• Undermining the reputation of Portage or of another Portage client on social media.
Personal Interaction with Portage's Official Platforms
We invite our clients to interact (share, comment, like, post blogs or news of the organisation, etc.) with Portage social media platforms from their personal profile, provided they abide by the rules mentioned above.
If a client comes across information that they believe to be incorrect or inappropriate, they are encouraged to contact the Communications Department at web@portage.ca.
Personal interactions with Portage employees' personal platforms
Employees and volunteers are not authorized to interact through their personal social media accounts with clients for a period of two years following the closure of a client’s file, including aftercare and continuing care. Clients can contact employees through the centre where they are working or where they worked in the past.
Creation of unofficial profiles relating to Portage
While Portage prefers that its clients confine interactions concerning Portage to its official corporate platforms, clients have the right to create their own unofficial groups or pages on social media platforms, provided they comply with the following:
• Users must inform Portage if they intend to create a group, page or account, or if they have already done so;
• The name of the group, page or account must specify that it is an unofficial group, page or account (ex: UNOFFICIAL Portage Ontario Support Group);
• The group, page or account cannot make use of the official Portage logo without the prior written consent of the Portage Communications Department;
• The description of the group, page or account must include a link to the Portage website and to its official corporate account on the relevant social platform, as applicable;
• The Portage Communications Department must be allowed access to the page, group or account if it so requires.
Prohibited Content
The creation and sharing of content as listed below is deemed inappropriate and is prohibited:
• Content that infringes on the fundamental rights of a person, including the right to respect for privacy, dignity, reputation, and the confidentiality of their personal information;
• Content that discriminates based on race, skin colour, gender, sexual orientation, age (except as provided by law), civil status, pregnancy, religion, political convictions, language, ethnic or national origin, social condition, handicap or use of an object to deal with a handicap;
• Defamatory or disrespectful content (attack, insult, threat, obscene language, homophobic content, harassment, blackmail, degrading images, etc.), or propaganda;
• Unsightly or inappropriate content;
• Non-authorised marketing, advertising, or spam, whether its intention is to promote an idea or a tangible or intangible service (and where hyperlinks are not related to Portage);
• Anonymous or repetitive content;
• Illegal content;
• Content that is plagiarized or that contravenes copyrights, trademarks, etc.
If a user comes across any of the above-mentioned prohibited content, they are encouraged to inform the Communications Department at web@portage.ca.
Jurisdiction
This policy shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of Quebec and Canada, as may be applicable. Any disputes shall be litigated within the jurisdiction of the federal and provincial courts, in Montréal, Quebec.
For information
Any questions or feedback on this policy should be directed to Portage’s Communications Department, which can be reached at 514-939-0202 #4, at web@portage.ca, or at 865, square Richmond, Montréal, Quebec, H3J 1V8.