EOHU’s Terms of Use: Twitter

Thank you for following us on Twitter! The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) uses Twitter as one tool in its efforts to communicate clearly, quickly and in an interesting manner to residents of eastern Ontario.

These Terms of Use describe how we will communicate with our community via Twitter. By participating in our Twitter account you are agreeing to these Terms of Use.

The EOHU may suspend, change or discontinue any aspect of their Twitter page at any time.

The EOHU is not responsible nor liable for any costs, losses or damages arising from the use or access to its Twitter page.

Content

Posts displayed on the EOHU Twitter page will cover various topics related to public health, including, but not limited to, EOHU campaigns, relevant health information for our region, 3rd party web content of interest, advisories and warnings, and media releases. We will also strive to provide interactive content, such as videos, polls, and games.

We may also occasionally retweet (RT) content from other users we think may be of interest to our followers. We will generally aim to honour requests from the following: other public health units in Ontario; other health-related organizations within eastern Ontario; and our partners and other non-profit organizations.

Frequency of Tweets

Followers can expect approximately 3 tweets a day. Be advised that there may be some periods where we have fewer postings than others (for example holidays and weekends) or no postings at all.

Following

At this time, EOHU follows other public health organizations and agencies, as well as other institutions and organizations which we believe are relevant to the mandate of our work – specifically, as it relates to the health and safety of individuals living within eastern Ontario. This could include following Twitter accounts of non-profit organizations and associations. Note that this is not necessarily the full extent of who EOHU follows. Exceptions are determined on a case-by-case basis.

EOHU’s decision to follow a particular Twitter account does not imply endorsement of any kind.

Followers

Similarly, the appearance of a Twitter user as a follower of a EOHU account does not imply endorsement. We will take steps to remove or block a follower if that follower does not abide by Twitter's terms of service.

@Replies and Direct Messages

We welcome feedback and ideas from all our followers. All @Replies and Direct Messages (DMs) will be read and any emerging themes or helpful suggestions will be passed to the relevant people at the Eastern Ontario Health Unit.

We will attempt to reply to all messages received via Twitter, although, depending on the demand there is no guarantee that this can be done at all times and in a timely manner.

EOHU will disregard @EOHU tweets containing:

  • Racist, defamatory or libellous comments
  • Threats, obscenity or vulgarity
  • Spam or advertising
  • Private information pertaining to another person or organization
  • Copyrighted material belonging to another person
  • Links to inappropriate websites

Please note: We cannot offer medical advice, diagnosis or treatment via Twitter. If you have a question about a specific medical condition, you should contact your healthcare provider. If you live in Ontario, you can also call Health811 at 811, or chat online at https://healthconnectontario.health.gov.on.ca/static/guest/chat-online. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911.

Details on contacting the EOHU can be found on the EOHU Contact page at www.eohu.ca.

Media Requests

We encourage the media to follow traditional channels to make a media request by calling the Health Unit at 613-933-1375 or toll free: 1-800-267-7120.

Retweets

Users may retweet (RT) material posted to the EOHU account provided that the content is not changed and proper credit is given.

EOHU may retweet relevant material posted by other public health units and key health influencers within Canada and/or other accounts determined to be relevant to our followers and of significant value. This may include food recalls, health promotion messages, research findings and other relevant messages.

Availability

We recognize that the Web is a 24/7 medium and your comments are welcome at any time. However, moderating and posting of tweets will generally occur during regular business hours. EOHU is not responsible for offering this service outside of the stipulated hours. EOHU cannot guarantee it will respond to all questions or comments.

Privacy

The EOHU corporate Twitter page is not affiliated with any government organization and represents our presence on Twitter. Users are encouraged to read Twitter’s privacy policy.

Information shared with EOHU on Twitter is subject to the provisions of Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA), 2004. This means that the information may be accessed and disclosed in response to a request under this act.

Users are advised not to share personal information. Personal information includes home addresses and telephone numbers, photographs containing images of identifiable individuals, and any other information consisting of personal information. Should you have any questions about your privacy rights as explained in this notice, please contact the EOHU directly.

Accessibility

Twitter, as a third party service provider, is not bound by the policies for web accessibility as set out by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

Links to Other Websites

Links to websites not under the control of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit are provided for the convenience of users. We are not responsible for the accuracy, currency, or reliability of the content of other sites. We do not offer any guarantee in that regard. We are not responsible for the information found through these links, nor do we endorse the sites or their content.

EOHU Employee Use of Twitter

Some EOHU employees use Twitter outside of work hours and in their personal capacity under their own names or pseudonyms. Despite their professional affiliation with the EOHU, the conduct of employees on Twitter in their personal capacity does not represent the official position of EOHU. The conduct of these employees should be considered as that of private citizens.

Copyrights

Users agree not to alter, edit, delete, remove or modify the meaning, appearance or purpose of any content available through the social media account, including proprietary rights notices.

Additional Information

If you are looking for information about the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, please consult our website (www.eohu.ca). The usual ways of contacting us for official correspondence are detailed in the Contact section of our website.

Source: Social Media Terms of Use. Public Health Agency of Canada, 2016. Adapted and reproduced with permission from the Minister of Health, 2017. ©All Rights Reserved.