Facebook Comment Policy

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS or Department) Facebook page welcomes your comments and postings. Comments, photos, and video responses posted to the DHS Facebook page are subject to Facebook’s usage, abuse, and comment policies at http://www.facebook.com/#!/policy.php?ref=pf. Your comments are public and available to anyone visiting the DHS Facebook page.

To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, do not include your full name, phone numbers, email addresses, social security number, case numbers or any other sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) in your comments or responses.

DHS does not moderate comments on the DHS Facebook page prior to posting, but reserves the right to remove any materials that pose a security or privacy risk.

If a Component of DHS has its own Facebook page, please refer to that Component’s comment policy. Additionally, DHS reserves the right to review all comments and remove any that contain profanity, personal attacks of any kind, spam, refer to Federal Civil Service employees by name, contain offensive terms that target specific ethnic or racial groups, promote commercial products, are geared toward the success or failure of a partisan political party, group, or candidate, incite hate, or are subject to a claim of infringement or deemed to be an infringement of intellectual property, or that is otherwise objectionable. Any opinions expressed by commentators on the DHS Facebook page, except as specifically noted, are solely those of the individual offering commentary, and does not reflect any DHS Component policy, endorsement, or action.

Use of a Facebook page is governed by the Facebook Privacy Policy at http://www.facebook.com/#!/policy.php?ref=pf. Only DHS employees acting in their official capacity are authorized representatives to administer DHS Facebook pages, as outlined in the Administration section above. All postings and content are considered property of DHS, and DHS retains the authority to remove or limit its distribution.

Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other nongovernmental organizations or individuals that remain on the DHS Facebook page are provided solely for the information of individuals visiting the DHS Facebook page. DHS does not endorse, support, or otherwise promote any private or commercial entity or the information, products, or services contained on those websites that may be reached through links on the DHS Facebook page.

Any DHS Facebook page is not to be used for the following:

• Reporting criminal activity. Individuals with information for law enforcement should contact their local law enforcement agency.
• Sending questions or status inquiries about any specific case involving DHS. Instead, individuals should contact DHS directly via contact information made available on our main website at www.dhs.gov/contact-us.
• Requesting DHS services or general questions. Instead, individuals should contact DHS directly via contact information made available on our main website at www.dhs.gov/contact-us to get help from the Department, including its Components.
• Submitting unsolicited proposals, or other business ideas or inquiries. The DHS Facebook page is not to be used for contracting or commercial business.
• Submitting any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy.

DHS does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by individuals on the DHS Facebook page is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. DHS may not be able to verify, does not warrant or guarantee, and assumes no liability for, anything posted on the DHS Facebook page by any other person.

Members of the media are directed to send questions to DHS OPA through their normal channels.