Social Media Guidelines

Effective Date: December 1, 2023

1． Objectives of the Guidelines

Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University has introduced these guidelines with the following objectives:
– To consolidate considerations pertinent to the utilization of social media by the academic staff, personnel, and students of the institution, thereby fostering judicious engagement with social media platforms
– To preemptively mitigate the potential repercussions stemming from the inappropriate utilization of social media, such as unintended predicaments arising from disseminations not aligned with the originator’s intent, which could adversely affect both individual users and, collectively, the affiliated departments and the university

２．Scope of Applicability

This guideline extends its purview to encompass the academic faculty, administrative staff, undergraduate and postgraduate students, research scholars, trainees, international participants, trainee veterinarians, postdoctoral associates, and others of similar standing (hereafter referred to as “academics and students”).
The ambit of this guideline is directed toward the act of propagating or unveiling information across various social media platforms, irrespective of the dichotomy between public and private interests.
The term “social media” comprises an array of online platforms that facilitate the dissemination, sharing, and proliferation of information encompassing social networking services (SNS), including but not limited to LINE, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok as well as blogs, bulletin boards, and Q&A sites.

3．Directives for the Utilization of Social Media

(1) Respect for Legal and Ethical Rights
Exemplary caution should be exercised during interactions on social media, mandating unwavering respect for the rights and interests of third parties, encompassing but not confined to privacy, reputation, image rights, intellectual property rights, and trademarks. Activities that culminate in defamation or damaging remarks must be conscientiously avoided.

(2) Adherence to Statutory and Regulatory Norms
Conformance with prevailing statutes, including extraterritorial statutes where pertinent, international legal frameworks, and institutional stipulations are imperative.

(3) Profound Comprehension of the Inherent Attributes of Social Media and the Operative Protocols of Specific Platforms
Social media platforms are inherently public domains, necessitating the cultivation of the cognizance that the disseminated material has the potential to pervade the purview of an indiscriminate multitude of users with diverse perspectives and contexts. It is incumbent upon users to assimilate the diverse operational modalities characteristic of each medium, encompassing the spectrum of identification methodologies (ranging from verifiable identities to anonymity) and the scope of information divulgence while remaining attuned to dynamic shifts in these paradigms. The corpus of the terms of usage, operational protocols, and prevailing ethos intrinsic to each platform should be comprehended in advance, and adherence to the framework prescribed by the purveyor of the service is a requisite.

(4) Information Propagation Dynamics
An awareness of the propensity of disseminated information to traverse multifarious channels needs to be instilled, recognizing the exigent complexity engendered by limited post hoc control. Once a datum is publicly disclosed, retraction from the digital domain is arduous, necessitating an intrinsic acknowledgment of this facet and a corresponding onus to post judiciously.

(5) Safeguarding Individual Privacy
Cognizance regarding the preservation of one’s personal privacy must be cultivated. The disclosure of information that could enable the identification of third parties warrants the antecedent acquisition of concurrence from the concerned party while ensuring that the dissemination does not transgress their privacy.

(6) Consideration of Informational Influence and Mitigation of Misapprehensions
Cognizance concerning the consequential impact of individual information propagation on the societal milieu should be acutely exercised. The propagation of precise and unambiguous information requires diligence, forestalling the inadvertent propagation of misconceptions. In cases where the identification of errors in previously disseminated information is discerned, a prompt rectification protocol should be implemented.

(7) Immunity Clause Pertaining to University-associated Content
In instances where the disseminated content pertains to matters affiliated with the university, it is incumbent upon the user to explicitly state that the opinions expressed are personal and devoid of representative capacity in relation to the university’s stance or formal proclamations. Furthermore, the potential for individual declarations to exert a disproportionate impact on the broader perception of the university’s collective image should be borne in mind.

(8) Custodianship of Confidential Information
Prudence is warranted in handling confidential information gleaned through associations with the university, including undisclosed data pertinent to the trajectory of decision-making processes.

4．Periodic Review and Revisions

This guideline remains subject to periodic evaluations and requisite revisions.