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Town of Hilton Head Island Internet Policies

Terms and Conditions of Use

Your access to and use of the Town of Hilton Head Island Website is subject to the following terms and conditions, as well as applicable laws. Your access to the Website is in consideration for your agreement to these Terms and Conditions of Use. By accessing, browsing, and utilizing this website, you accept, without limitation or qualification, these Terms and Conditions of Use.

There are sections of the Town's Website that link you to other sites outside of the control of the Town of Hilton Head Island. These terms and conditions apply only to those areas that are maintained by the Town.

Conduct
You agree to access and use this Website only for lawful purposes. You are solely responsible for the knowledge and adherence to any and all laws, statutes, rules and regulations pertaining to your use of this Website. By accessing this site, you agree that you will not:

  • Use the site to commit a criminal offense or to encourage others to conduct that which would constitute a criminal offense or give rise to a civil liability;
  • Post or transmit any unlawful, threatening, libelous, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, pornographic, profane, or otherwise objectionable content;
  • Use this website to impersonate other parties or entities;
  • Use this website to upload any content that contains a software virus, computer code, files, or programs that may alter, damage, or interrupt the functionality of the Website or the hardware or software of any person who accesses the website;
  • Upload, post, e-mail, or otherwise transmit any materials that you do not have a right to transmit under any law or under a contractual relationship;
  • Alter, damage, or delete any content posted on the website;
  • Disrupt the normal flow of communication in any way;
  • Claim a relationship with or speak for any business, association, or other organization for which you are not authorized to claim such a relationship;
  • Post or transmit any unsolicited advertising, promotional materials, or other forms of solicitation;
  • Post any material that infringes or violates the intellectual property rights of another; or
  • Collect or store personal information about others.

Termination of Use
The Town may, in its sole discretion, terminate or suspend your access and use of this website without notice for the violation of these terms and Conditions of Use or for other conduct which the Town, in its sole discretion, believes is unlawful or harmful to others. In the event of termination, you will no longer be authorized to access the Website, and the Town will use whatever means possible to enforce this termination.

Non-Town Websites
Various links on this website lead to resources outside of the Town of Hilton Head Island Website. The Town does not control these websites, nor do we review or control their content. The Town of Hilton Head Island provides these links only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, representation or warranty by the Town.

Indemnity
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Town of Hilton Head Island and its employees from any liabilities and costs incurred by Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim arising from any breach by you of these Terms and Conditions of Use, including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. You agree to cooperate as fully as may be reasonably possible in the defense of any such claim. The Town reserves the right to assume, at its own expense, the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you. You in turn shall not settle any matter without the written consent of the Town.

Privacy Policy

Purpose
The purpose of the privacy policy is to inform users of the Town's Website with regard to the collection and use of personally identifiable information. The Town of Hilton Head Island privacy policy applies only to this website. When you follow a link to another site, this policy will not apply. All users should check the privacy policy of each site visited if you have concerns regarding the handling of personally identifiable information.

Definition of Personally Identifiable Information
For the purposes of this statement "personally identifiable information" means any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual who is the subject of the information.

Personally Identifiable Information
The Town of Hilton Head Island does not sell or rent personally identifiable information. Users do not have to provide personal information to visit the Town of Hilton Head Island's Website to read, download or print information. The Town may request personally identifiable information from the user in order to provide specific services. Any information collected for that purpose will include only that which is necessary to provide requested services and will be handled, as it would be in a physical visit to the government office. Whenever personal information is requested from the user on this site, there will be an indication of whether the disclosure of such information is mandatory or optional.

Unidentifiable Information
In order to provide new services, design a more customer friendly site and facilitate access, the Town of Hilton Head Island uses statistical analysis of traffic on the site. The Town does not attempt to associate this data with information that is personally identifiable, but as summary statistics.

Use of Visitor E-Mail Addresses
E-mail addresses obtained as a result of a request to the Town's Website shall not be sold or given to other private companies for marketing purposes. E-mail or other information requests sent to the Town's Website may be maintained in order to respond to the request or to forward the request to the appropriate department. Individuals may be able to receive updates on issues important to them, but only if they choose to "opt-in" to that specific service. By "opting-in" to one such service users do not "opt-in" to other services. Should the user subsequently choose not to receive such informational updates via e-mail, they may remove themselves at any time.

Data Security and Quality
The Town of Hilton Head Island is committed to security and accuracy of personally identifiable data that is collected from the Website and has taken reasonable precautions to protect personally identifiable information from loss, misuse or alteration.


Linkage Policy

The Town of Hilton Head Island Website is designed to provide residents and visitors access to municipal government departments, services, information and programs. The Town may wish to provide links to other sites that provide additional information regarding government, related organizations or the community. The links contained within the Town of Hilton Head Island Website will cause you to leave the Town's Website. The linked sites are not under the control of the Town of Hilton Head Island; therefore, the Town is not responsible for the contents of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site. These links are provided to users only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement of the site by the Town.

The Town of Hilton Head Island will allow links from its website to internet sites of other organizations where links to such sites, in the sole judgement and discretion of the Town, positively promote the welfare and economic development of the Town of Hilton Head Island. In general, the Town of Hilton Head Island Website links only to related government organizations and nonprofits, specifically those that provide services and information that support the functions and services that the Town provides. No links will be allowed to sites that comprises statements or images that are obscene, scurrilous, slanderous, defamatory, abusive, or otherwise harmful to individuals or groups, particularly with regard to race, national origin, age gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability status, or political affiliation. Anyone encountering objectionable material on this web page or any linked page should please notify the Webmaster of this site immediately. The decision of the Town or its representatives as to what organizations and internet sites support these goals will be final.

Principle Considerations:

  • Links are to be chosen by the Town's Website Administrator to be helpful in some way to a citizen utilizing the Town's Website. The Website Administrator must reasonably investigate any link under consideration. A Department Head or a designee must approve any link on a given web page of a Department.
  • Links should be chosen using a viewpoint neutral and content neutral process. In other words, links shall not be placed in order to promote a particular viewpoint. The Town Website shall not link to sites that promote a particular political viewpoint, agenda or advocacy position.
  • In order to avoid the appearance of Town endorsement of political content, links shall not be made to sites that are associated with, sponsored by or serving a candidate for elected office, any political party or organization supporting or seeking to defeat any candidate for elective office or ballot proposal.
  • Town web pages shall not link to other sites solely to promote commercial gain.
  • A link to the Town's Linkage Disclaimer should be provided on web pages that contain links to any page not maintained by the Town of Hilton Head Island.

Links may be made to websites that meet the following criteria:

  • Maintained by a non-profit charitable, educational, hospital, scientific or cultural organization serving Hilton Head Island; or
  • Maintained by a state, local or federal government agency; or
  • Maintained by an organization that receives direct financial support from the Town; or
  • Provides a unique online tool to assist residents in accessing information on the site.

The Town may, in its sole discretion, remove any link to its internet site at any time, with no notice to the sponsoring organization.


Advertising

All forms of advertising are prohibited on the Town of Hilton Head Island Website.


Standard Disclaimers


General Disclaimer Notice
The information and services within this Website are provided and maintained for the convenience of the user by the Town of Hilton Head Island staff. While every effort is made to keep such information accurate and up-to-date, document and related graphics published on this site could include technical inaccuracies or typographic errors. The Town of Hilton Head Island provides the information and services on this Website 'without guarantee, warranty or representation of any kind. Use of and browsing in this Website are at the sole risk of the user. In the case of any errors and discrepancies, including deadline dates for the submission of any materials, the official printed documents maintained at Town Hall will take precedence. Independent verification of all information on this Website is strongly recommended. Under no circumstances will the Town of Hilton Head Island be liable for any incidental, indirect, special, punitive, exemplary or consequential damages, arising out of the use or inability to use this website, including without limitation, loss of revenue or anticipated profits,loss of goodwill, loss of business, loss of data, computer failure or malfunction, or any damages.

Communications made through the electronic mail/and/or messaging capabilities of this site shall in no way deemed to constitute legal notice to the Town of Hilton Head Island or any of its agencies, officers, employees, agents or representatives with respect to any application or existing or potential claim or cause of action against the Town or any of its agencies, officers, employees, agents, or representatives, where notice to the Town is required by any Federal, state or local laws, rules, or regulations.

Altering Forms Warning
Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this website including unauthorized alterations to the wording of any online forms available on the site, are strictly prohibited. Alteration of the wording of downloadable or online forms renders the forms invalid. Unauthorized interference with the operations and functions of this website, by electronic or other means, is strictly prohibited. Any attempt to use any information, feature, or other aspect of the site to engage in criminal conduct will be vigorously prosecuted. Any unlawful actions may be subject to criminal prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986, and other criminal laws, and may also result in civil liability.