As part of our commitment to transparency and accountability, we use a variety of communications tools, including social media, to increase our collaboration and interaction with stakeholders and the public.
Our intention is to use social media, publications, and online content to help inform, explain, and clarify the actions, roles, and responsibilities of the AER and to participate in the conversation around energy development in Alberta.
As with any other form of communication, the AER’s use of social media must meet all requirements for credibility, privacy, authority, and accountability. By participating in any of our social media channels, you agree to the terms and conditions of these terms of use. You may also be bound by other engagement rules related to each specific social media platform (e.g., Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube).
Changes
We may revise the terms of use and other specific engagement rules at any time without notice. We may also delete or change our social media accounts at any time without notice to users. Your ongoing use of AER social media accounts after such changes constitutes your agreement to such changes.
Posting, Commenting, and Moderation Policy
The AER encourages open and meaningful communication by sharing relevant and informative content with the public on social media. We encourage feedback and interaction and expect that comments and conversations be respectful.
We monitor our social media platforms and try to moderate all comments and respond to information requests. We will not tolerate offensive or abusive comments directed at an individual or the organization and reserve the right to review, edit, delete, or report content that contains:
- racist, hateful, sexist, homophobic, slanderous, or insulting language;
- abusive, aggressive, coarse, explicit, vulgar, violent, or obscene language;
- serious, unproven, unsupported, or inaccurate accusations against individuals or the organization;
- personal attacks or defamatory statements; and
- any content that we believe is inappropriate or does not add to the conversation or flow of debate.
We may also end a user’s ability to access or use our social media accounts without notice to the user if, in our view, the user is not meeting these guidelines.
The views of participants commenting on our social media accounts do not represent the views of the AER.
We read all comments, replies, direct messages, and emails received and respond with helpful suggestions when appropriate. Our response may be via an individual message, including directing requests to the correct AER (or other) resource, or through a general response to a common theme. If a comment or question merits a detailed response, we may distribute the information through other channels, such as our website or other social media channels.
You are responsible for everything you post, and all posted content is in the public domain. Protect yourself, your privacy, and the privacy of others. What you publish is widely accessible, so consider the content carefully before posting. We recommend that you do not post personally identifiable information on our social media sites. Information posted on AER social media sites is not protected and can be obtained by others. Personal information that you provide to us through social media accounts is collected in order to capture conversations between you and the AER. It may be used to respond to inquiries, or for statistical measurement and reporting purposes. For more information about the AER’s policies concerning privacy, read our privacy statement.
Social Media Frequency
The number of tweets, blog posts, YouTube videos, LinkedIn updates, and any other interactions on social media will vary. AER social media accounts will be most active during regular business hours. Any activity during holidays or after core business hours would likely be either emergency or urgent communications that are of significant value to our stakeholders or the public. Otherwise, the accounts will be relatively inactive outside business hours.
Availability
Because social media platforms are managed by third parties, our social media accounts may be subject to downtime that may be out of the AER’s control. As such, we do not accept responsibility for any social media network becoming unresponsive or unavailable.
AER Personnel Using Social Media
Some AER personnel use social media outside of work hours or use it personally under their own names or pseudonyms. Despite their professional affiliation with the AER, social media activities of personnel not in an official capacity do not represent the official position of the AER. Such activities should be considered as those of private citizens. Only comments posted by authorized AER personnel are those of the AER.
Copyright, Disclaimer, and Limitation of Liability
For information about our policies concerning content ownership and privacy, as well as our responsibility for the content of comments and other postings, please review our copyright and disclaimer.
Contact Information
The AER social media accounts are managed by our Public Affairs team. Contact us:
Customer Contact Centre: 1-855-297-8311
24-hour media line: 1-855-474-6356
Email: social.media@aer.ca
Media Inquiries
Media may contact our 24-hour media line at 1-855-474-6356.
