§ 34-73. Electronic/e-mail/internet policy.

(a)

Introduction. Georgetown-Quitman County provides e-mail and internet access to employees in an effort to give its employees a tool to communicate easily and efficiently. Employees must be mindful that use of the electronic communications systems should be limited to county business. The sole exception to the above sentence since employees may make incidental and occasional personal use as long as such use does not interfere with an employee's performance of his or her job responsibilities or the business use of such systems by other employees. The county has a right of access to all e-mail and all information on county-provided computers. No individual should have any expectation of privacy with messages sent or received. Since confidentially is not readily attainable when using e-mail and because many e-mail communications are public records, employees should never use e-mail for making harassing or threatening statements or expressing personal opinions on noncounty related matters.

(b)

Definitions.

(1)

E-mail means an electronic message transmitted between two or more computers or electronic terminals, whether or not the message is converted to hard copy format after receipt and whether or not the message is viewed upon transmission through a local, regional, or global computer network.

(2)

Electronic communications means each of the county's electronic communications systems, including, without limitation, e-mail, the internet and any intranet established by or on behalf of the county. This does exclude voice telephone communications, i.e., 911-telephone call taking/dispatching.

(3)

The internet means the global computer network accessed via modem, ISDN, DSL, cable modem or T-1 line, whether directly or through an internet service provider.

(4)

Public record means all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs. Computer-based or generated information, or similar material prepared and maintained or received during the operation of a county office or agency. Public record also means such items received or maintained by a private person or entity on behalf of a county office or agency which is not otherwise subject to protection from disclosure.

(c)

Scope. All e-mail communications and associated attachments transmitted or received over the Georgetown-Quitman County network and/or any computer equipment owned by Georgetown-Quitman County and all use of the electronic communications systems of the county are subject to the provisions of this policy. In addition and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, since Georgia law provides that e-mail communications written in the course of operation of a public office are generally considered to be public records, all e-mail communications written and sent in the conduct of public business by Georgetown-Quitman County employees and/or representatives are subject to the provisions of this policy under the heading "Application of Public Records Statutes to E-Mail", regardless of whether the communication was sent or received on a public or privately owned personal computer.

(d)

E-mail is county property.

(1)

The electronic communications systems hardware and software are county property, and all messages composed, sent or received on the electronic communications systems are and remain the property of the county. They are not the private property of any individual.

(2)

Use of the electronic communications systems are reserved solely for the conduct of county business. They may not be used for personal business or gain. Personal use is limited to incidental and occasional use that does not interfere with the employee's performance of his or her job responsibilities or the business use of e-mail by other employees.

(e)

No expectation of privacy in messages; lack of confidentiality.

(1)

The county reserves and intends to exercise the right to review, audit, intercept, access and disclose all messages created, received or sent over the electronic communications systems for any purpose. The contents of electronic communications may be disclosed within or outside the county without the consent of any individual.

(2)

The confidentiality of any message should not be assumed. Even when a user erases a message, it is still possible to retrieve and read that message. Furthermore, the use of passwords for security does not guarantee confidentiality. All passwords must be disclosed to the county upon request.

(f)

Prohibited uses.

(1)

The electronic communications systems may not be used to solicit, recruit for, conduct business for, or manage any commercial ventures, religious or political causes or outside organizations.

(2)

The electronic communications systems shall not be used to create, send or forward any chain e-mails, advertisements, solicitations or nonbusiness-related messages. No social networking during work hours is prohibited by county employees.

(3)

The electronic communications systems shall not be used to create, send or forward any offensive or disruptive messages. Among those messages which are considered offensive or disruptive are any messages, which contain profanity, sexual implications, racial slurs, gender-specific comments, or any other comment that offensively addresses someone's age, gender, race, religious or political beliefs, national origin or disability.

(4)

The electronic communications systems shall not be used to search or "surf" for, or visit or receive (download) any sites containing any written, pictorial, audio or other depiction of information that might be considered offensive or disruptive as discussed above. Among the prohibited sites, which cannot be visited using the electronic communications, systems are sites containing sexually related material or any other sites portraying information not reasonably calculated to be of use for the county.

(5)

For materials copyrighted by third parties, the electronic communications systems should not be used to receive (download) or transmit (upload) such copyrighted materials, unless the third party owner/author has granted an express right for the county and/or the user to download and/or upload. In no event shall any individual attempt to receive or download any so-called "hacker" software or other software whose purpose is to aid the user in improperly accessing secure materials, circumventing security measures or copying or downloading copyrighted material, whether such material is on an internal or external network.

(6)

The electronic communications systems shall not be used to breach or attempt to breach any other network containing any protected information from a third party.

(7)

The electronic communications systems should not be used to transmit or discuss information that currently is or could be the subject of a lawsuit involving the county, including conclusions or opinions as to the existence, absence or enforceability of a grievance, claim or contract or the activities of any individual on behalf of the county. The above statement shall not be used to limit or restrict the use of 911 computer-aided dispatch system or mobile data computers, which can be the subject of lawsuits.

(8)

The electronic communications systems shall not be used to establish web sites or home pages without prior approval of the county manager.

(9)

The electronic communications systems shall not be used to post any message to an internet message board or chat room or other public electronic forum.

(10)

Misrepresenting, obscuring, suppressing or replacing a user's identity on any electronic communication, including but not limited to, the practice of "spoofing" (i.e., constructing electronic communications so that it appears to be from another person) is prohibited. The user's name, electronic mail address, organizational affiliation, time and date of transmission, and related information included with any electronic message posting must always reflect the true originator, time, date and place or origination of the posting or message.

(g)

Application of public records statutes to e-mail. E-mail messages are subject to many of the same statutes and legal requirements and disclosure as other forms of communication, such as the Inspection of Public Records Statute (O.C.G.A. §§ 50-18-70 through 50-18-76). This statute treats computer based or generated information in the same manner as paper documents. All such documents are generally considered to be public records and are subject to public inspection, unless they are covered by a specific statutory exemption. E-mail messages, which are public records, must be retained in either paper or electronic format. An open records request received via e-mail shall be deemed legally received at the time of opening the message; therefore, the recipient shall document the date and time of receipt for compliance purposes. E-mail messages that are not public records should be deleted after viewing.

(h)

Unauthorized reception or review.

(1)

Although the county has the right to retrieve and read any message sent over the electronics communications systems, messages should be treated as confidential by individual users and accessed only by the intended recipient or his/her designee. Individual users of the county's electronic communications systems are not authorized to retrieve or read any messages that are not sent to them, unless authorized in advance by the county manager, or, unless they have obtained the permission of another individual user to access and/or read that other user's messages.

(2)

Unauthorized use of another person's (or group's) password, or knowingly giving passwords to others not authorized to use such passwords are prohibited.

(3)

Circumventing security measures or trying to gain unauthorized access to systems, resources, programs or data is prohibited. Any attempt to destroy the integrity of computer-based information is also prohibited.

(4)

Falsifying your identity on the internet, or any malicious attempt to harm or destroy resources or data is prohibited. This includes deliberately uploading, downloading, or creating computer viruses.

(i)

Compliance. Any individual that discovers a violation of this policy shall notify his or her supervisor. Any individual that violates this policy or uses the electronic communications systems for improper purposes shall be subject to discipline, up to and including termination of employment, and possibly other legal remedies.

(Ord. of 4-3-07)