Purpose
The purpose of these terms of use is to:
- affirm that contributions to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's (AMSA) online spaces including our Facebook and Twitter pages are welcomed from all, and
- ensure that contributions are appropriate, respect the needs and sensitivities of others and are lawful.
These terms of use are in addition to any user policy or terms and conditions imposed by the host.
Use of AMSA’s social media channels
AMSA’s social medial channels are open forums and we ask that you follow our posting guidelines as outlined within these terms of use. If you choose to view, post or comment on, or otherwise use any AMSA social media channels, you will be taken to have entered into a binding legal agreement with AMSA to comply with these terms of use. Please read them carefully.
Comments are open to all, will be available online as posted (subject to these terms of use), and will be monitored by AMSA staff. Commentary, opinion and reaction to web content published by AMSA is welcome as part of our commitment to encouraging community engagement with our services and programs. Comments should be relevant to the specific post or record to which they are attached.
You accept that AMSA will moderate its social media channels as far as possible in accordance with its moderation policy as set out further below. You further agree that AMSA’s moderation will occur entirely at AMSA’s discretion.
Do not use AMSA’s social media channels to report an emergency situation to AMSA.
In the event of an emergency, contact AMSA immediately on the details provided in the contact us section of our website.
Inappropriate comments
You agree to only use the AMSA social media channels for lawful purposes and in a manner that does not infringe the rights of, or restrict the use and enjoyment of the channel, by any other person.
Therefore, in using AMSA’s social media channels, you agree:
- to always comply with the terms of use of any social media platform (such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube) that hosts AMSA’s social media channels
- to always treat other people using the social media platforms with respect and courtesy
- not to use the social media channels to defame, libel, insult, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or attack anyone
- not to post any material that is offensive, obscene, vulgar or violent
- not to post any material that vilifies or discriminates against any particular gender, religion, sexual preference, age, disability, marital or domestic status, race/ethnicity, criminal record or political opinion
- not to post any material that is fraudulent, deceptive or misleading including to not to not impersonate or falsely represent any other person or organisation
- not to post any material that you do not have a legal right to post (for example, material that infringes the copyright or other intellectual property rights of another person or material which is confidential)
- not to post any material that advertises, offers or promotes anything of a commercial nature (for example any material which may breach the Spam Act 2003 (Cth))
- not to post any material or encourage any conduct that would constitute a criminal offence or give rise to civil liability or is otherwise illegal or unlawful
- not introduce any virus or other form of malicious code into the social media channels
- not to deliberately disrupt discussions (eg trolling)
- not to post irrelevant or excessively long material
- not to post material that identifies matters that are currently the subject of legal proceedings or would break a court’s non-publication order.
This is an apolitical site and as such, posts that are political in content and/or nature will be removed.
Breaches of this policy
If you breach these terms or use AMSA may remove or refuse to post any material you have submitted. AMSA may suspend or ban contributors from making submissions where there have been serious or repeated breaches of the conditions set out in these terms of use. AMSA may also report your conduct to the owner of the relevant social media platform and/or to any appropriate law enforcement authorities, or take any other action, including legal action, which AMSA considers to be appropriate.
Moderation policy
We encourage your comments and hope you will join the discussions. Our moderation process aligns with the AMSA Code of Conduct. This helps ensure that spam or comments that breach the terms of use are not published. All AMSA social media accounts will be monitored and actively moderated during standard operating hours only: Monday to Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm AEST (unless otherwise stated and excluding public holidays).
Please make sure you comply with the terms of use for our social media channels. AMSA uses a post–moderation process: your comment is published immediately. The Australian Government has strict guidelines on discrimination and intimidation. Therefore we take a strong stance on deleting content which is illegal, discriminatory, hateful or threatening; and actions which may offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate or otherwise breach these terms of use.
AMSA greatly appreciates receiving feedback and suggestions via social media channels and will maintain consistent monitoring. However, we may not respond directly to individual messages but rather choose to respond if there is an on–going theme identified by relevant discussion groups.
There may be times when posts or comments that breach these terms of use appear on a channel before they can be removed. Please contact the social media team (details below) if you are aware of any post or comment that is in breach of the policy, and moderators will address the issue appropriately.
If you follow @AMSA_News or @AMSAUpdates we will not automatically follow you back. This is to discourage the use of direct messaging, avoid resource wasting spam handling and so that you can also easily identify other key Twitter users that we think are relevant. However, being followed @AMSA_News or @AMSAUpdates does not imply endorsement of any kind.
We welcome feedback and ideas from all our followers, and endeavour to join the conversation where possible. However, we are not able to reply individually to all the messages we receive via Twitter.
We cannot engage on issues of politics or answer question which break the rules of these terms of use.
The usual ways of contacting AMSA (including in emergency situations) are detailed in the contact us section of our website.
AMSA’s rights
AMSA reserves the right to change, add or modify these terms of use at any time. AMSA reserves the right to enforce these terms of use at its discretion.
Social media services may occasionally be unavailable. AMSA accepts no responsibility for lack of service due to downtime.
Licence under which you post content
In posting material to an AMSA social media channel, you agree that you licence (as licensor) that material to the public under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia licence. Please read the terms carefully. In licensing your material under this licence, you agree to ensure that you have all necessary rights (including in respect of copyright and other intellectual property rights) from any owners of material which you include in your post in order to lawfully post that material under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence. You remain entirely responsible and liable for any infringement you may make of another person’s intellectual property rights as a result of your postings to AMSA’s social media channels.
Privacy statement
AMSA records any information posted to these pages and uses that information for the purpose of administering its social media pages and considering and/or addressing any comments made. No attempt will be made to further identify individuals except where authorised or required by law. AMSA is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of the host or any linked websites.
Users are reminded that social media sites are public spaces on the Internet and interactions are publicly viewable and searchable over time. Social media services provide their own disclaimers and policies on collection and use of visitor information, over which AMSA has no control. AMSA encourages users to familiarise themselves with the terms of use of each social media site before use. AMSA cannot control what members of the public may do with the content you have contributed.
Disclaimer
AMSA does not accept responsibility for any loss, damage, liability, cost or expense however caused or incurred (including through negligence), which you may directly or indirectly suffer in connection with your use of AMSA’s social media channels or any linked site or facility, nor do we accept any responsibility for any loss arising out of your use of, or reliance on, information accessed using AMSA’s social medial channels. This disclaimer does not exclude liability arising under statute if, and to the extent, such liability cannot be lawfully excluded.
To the extent permitted by law, any condition or warranty which would otherwise be implied into these terms of use is excluded.
While reasonable efforts are made by AMSA to ensure inappropriate material on its social medial channels is identified and moderated, AMSA does not guarantee that it will identify all inappropriate material or that inappropriate material will be removed in a timely fashion or at all. However, AMSA reserves the right to remove any posts or comments at its sole discretion.
AMSA accepts no responsibility whether expressed or implied for the accuracy, currency and completeness of any information posted on its social media channels or its relevance and suitability for any purpose. AMSA does not endorse or otherwise support any view, opinion or comment posted by a user or contributor on AMSA social media channels. AMSA recommends that users exercise their own skill and care with respect to evaluating such posts or comments and that they carefully evaluate the accuracy, currency, completeness and relevance of the post or comment for their purposes.
AMSA accepts no legal liability whatsoever arising from, or connected to its failure to moderate any post or comment or the use of, or reliance on, any post or comment by a user.
Indemnity
When posting or otherwise communicating content using AMSA’s social media channels, you agree to indemnify AMSA and its employees and agents against any claim by a third party arising out of any breach of these terms of use by you.
General issues
These terms are governed by the laws of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of these laws and the courts of the ACT in respect of these terms and your use of AMSA’s social media channels.