Social Media Comments Policy

The purpose of Loudoun County’s official social media platforms is to provide information of public interest to the county’s residents, business community, visitors and other members of the general public. We encourage you to engage your local government through social media by submitting your comments and questions regarding the posted topics and by sharing the county’s information with your network. Loudoun County Government’s Social Media Comments Policy provides people who choose to communicate with the county via its official social media platforms with guidelines for engagement. Please note that the comments expressed on the Loudoun County social media sites do not reflect the opinions and position of Loudoun County government or its officers and employees.

Comment Removal

Loudoun County considers its social media platforms to be moderated online discussion sites. As a result, the county reserves the right to remove comments that contain:

  • Conduct or encouragement of illegal activity
  • Content that promotes, fosters or perpetuates discrimination against protected classes
  • Content that violates legal ownership interest of any other party, such as copyright or trademark infringement
  • Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems
  • Profane language or content
  • Promotions of particular services, products or political candidates or organizations
  • Sexual harassment content
  • Solicitations of commerce or advertisements including promotion or endorsement
  • Spam or comments that include links to external online sites

Violators of this policy may have their comments removed from the county’s official social media platforms. Continued or egregious violations of this policy may prompt the county to further restrict an individual’s commenting on official county social media platforms.

Sheriff's Office Comments Policy

Administrators

The county’s social media platforms are administered by designated staff. When one of the county’s social media administrators suspects a violation of the Loudoun County Social Media Comments Policy, he or she will contact the Public Affairs and Communications Division of the Office of the County Administrator, which will review and authorize removal of a comment when appropriate. When appropriate and if possible, a social media administrator will contact the commenter regarding a violation of the county’s Social Media Comments Policy to notify the commenter and/or to request voluntary removal of the comment. Appeals regarding the Public Affairs and Communications Division’s decision to remove a comment may be submitted via email or phone at 703-777-0113; the Public Affairs and Communications Division will respond to appeals within two business days.