INTERNATIONAL LIFE SAVING FEDERATION
Gemeenteplein 26 - 3010 Leuven - Belgium
Tel: +32/ 16 896060 - E-Mail: ils.hq@telenet.be - Web: http://www.ilsf.org

ILS POLICY – POL 21

SOCIAL MEDIA1.

PURPOSEThis policy is intended to provide the International Life Saving Federation’s (ILS) with a framework
to guide the use of Social Media in a manner that is consistent with ILS’ mission.
The ILS participates in conversations on social networking sites and supports its stakeholders
who are interested in participating in social media activity that supports the ILS’s business.
The ILS encourages positive behaviour of Social Media Users. Indeed, negative behaviour
reflects on the individual and its member organization. The ILS will seek agreement with its
Member Organizations that the Member Organizations will deal with/be informed with/ofoffenders.
We trust the ILS Stakeholders to do the right thing and exercise personal responsibility and soundjudgement when participating in any conversation that references ILS in any way

2.

DEFINITION
Social Media is the collective of online communications channels which may be structured aroundor in conjunction with community-based input. These channels will generally allow users toparticipate in an online community, which may or may not reflect an offline community throughonline collaboration, content sharing/viewing of visual imagery and text, livestreaming, chat andinstant messaging functions, blogs, forums, discussion boards and other activity groups.
Stakeholders are ILS International Member Organisations, ILS Individual Members, Members ofthe ILS Board of Directors, ILS Commission and Committee Members, ILS Advisors, ILS Staff
Members and Volunteers. This includes, as far as practicable, Suppliers, Partners and Contractors.

3.

SCOPE
This policy should be read in conjunction with the following three ILS Policies:•••ILS Policy - POL 08 - Code of ConductILS Policy - POL 15 - ILS Logo Usage Policy
ILS Policy - POL 17 - ILS Privacy Policy

The principles and codes of conduct established in the ILS Code of Conduct are extended to therealm of social media.
4.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA USE
Whenever Social Media Users are interacting on Social Media, in a professional or personal
context, the following guiding principles should always be considered and applied.
A Social Media User must:

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b.

c.
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n.

Not harass, bully, abuse or intimidate or display any other form of inappropriate behaviour.
Not post personal content that is obscene, defamatory, threatening, harassing, bullying,
discriminatory, personal, offensive, aggressive, abusive, profane, hateful, racist, pornographic,sexist, sexually explicit, that infringes on copyright, constitutes a contempt of court, breaches
a Court suppression order, or is otherwise unlawful.
Not exploit platforms to seduce, groom or inappropriately engage with Children.
Not do anything that breaches their terms of employment or membership.
Respond to others’ opinions respectfully.
Acknowledge and correct mistakes promptly.
Subject to the ILS policies and otherwise the consent of the ILS, not use any ILS Intellectual
Property or imagery.
Ensure that all information is accurate, not misleading and complies with all relevant laws,policies, and terms of use.
Only disclose and discuss approved and publicly available information and content (including
videos, audio, and images).
Not post content that might otherwise cause damage to the reputation of the ILS or bring it into
disrepute.
Not directly express a political affiliation on an official account or a personal account clearly
associated with lifesaving activities.
Not upload information of a confidential nature, especially regarding ILS’ services or Members.
Adhere to terms and use of the relevant Social Media platform/website, as well as ILS policies
and comply with all relevant laws including but not only privacy and defamation laws and laws
relating to use and publication of Intellectual Property.
Not use ILS Intellectual Property in relation to any paid or unpaid promotion or endorsementof products or commercial entities including in kind services or gifts, unless in agreement withthe ILS.

In addition, an elected or appointed ILS official, or ILS Staff Member should:
a. Ensure that comments, posts, and responses from official ILS accounts are true and accurate.
b. Not conduct a private business through the ILS’ Social Media presence.
c. Ensure that comments, posts, and responses from official ILS accounts are true and accurate,and link to online references and original source materials directly.
5.

USE OF ILS TRADEMARK ON SOCIAL MEDIA
When using Social Media for professional or personal pursuits, all ILS Stakeholders must respect
the ILS brand and follow the guidelines in place to ensure ILS’ Intellectual Property and its
relationships with sponsor and stakeholders are not compromised and that the ILS is not brought
into disrepute.

6.

USE OF PHOTOGRAPHY ON SOCIAL MEDIA
In summary, photos or video that may be interpreted as offensive, inappropriate, obscene,defamatory, threatening, harassing, bullying, discriminatory, hateful, racist, or sexist must not be
used in any way. The ILS reserves the right to remove any inappropriate images from official ILS
sites.
Copyright legislation should always be adhered to. If a photo or video does not belong to the ILS,
written consent should be obtained, and appropriate recognition be given upon posting the content.
The written consent of any individual should be sought, before publishing a photo or video
containing their image or that of their personal property. If photos or video includes a minor, writtenconsent must be provided by a parent or legal guardian.
Use of any official ILS photo or video content on a personal Social Media account, without approvalor authorisation is strictly prohibited.

7.

PERMISSIONSThe ILS may create Social Media accounts to engage with its members, supporters, and the generalpublic. Any account which represents the ILS must be authorised and approved by the ILS BusinessCommission or as delegated by the ILS Board of Directors. The account should identify itself as an
official account representing the ILS.
The ILS currently owns/manages the following Social Media accounts• ILS Facebook account - https://www.facebook.com/ILSForg/inbox/• ILS Medical Committee Twitter account - @ILSMedical
The ILS regularly posts content onto the following Social Media accounts which it does not directly
own or manage• International Lifesaving Referees Facebook account https://www.facebook.com/groups/27993029026/• International Lifesaving Athletes Facebook account https://www.facebook.com/groups/1632876983693844/

8.

PERSONAL USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA WHEN IDENTIFIABLE AS AN ILS MEMBER
Personal use can be defined as the use of non-official ILS Social Media accounts where the person
can be identified as an ILS Member.
Personal use is a matter for an individual user, however, individuals will be accountable for theconsequences of their actions on Social Media if such actions contravene this Policy and will bedisciplined according to the policies and codes of conduct of the ILS.

9.

NAMED AFFILIATIONS
Accounts (be it a blog, webpage, twitter account, Facebook page etc) that are not official, but are
set up by Stakeholders of the ILS for personal reasons can have an affiliation to the ILS, so longas the following is undertaken:
a. It should not have the affiliation with the ILS as the primary identifier.
b. It should include a prominent disclaimer that the opinions of the user are their own and do not
represent those of ILS.
For example, a staff member might include the following:“Opinions expressed here are my own and not to be taken as an endorsement or representing theviews of the ILS.”

10. POLICY BREACH
Misuse of Social Media can have serious consequences for ILS, and consequently that misuse canhave serious consequences in terms of potential sanctions for Social Media Users.
The ILS is responsible for ensuring adherence to the Social Media Policy by Social Media Users
included in this Policy.
Stakeholders must adhere to the Terms of Use of the relevant Social Media platform/website, as
well as the ILS policies and their own organisation’s policies and legislative requirements. In theevent of breach and/or serious misconduct sanction action may be commenced under the relevant
Bye-Laws, rules and/or other contract(s).
The ILS encourages all Stakeholders to report any use of Social Media which is perceived to havebreached this policy. Reports should be directed to the ILS Executive Director at the ILS
Headquarters – ils.hq@telenet.be .

Policy approved by the ILS Board of Directors on 19/09/2020 and on 24/09/2022.