Website Policy
Web Site Policies and Terms of Use
1. Web Site Purpose and Goals
1.1. The purpose of the City of Foster City’s Web site is to provide information about the City’s Operations, Polices, and Practices to the residents and business of Foster City.
1.2. The Web site supports the goals of the City Council and Department strategic plans.
2. General Policy and Terms of Use
2.1. The City of Foster City’s Web site is maintained and managed by the City. The City does not warrant that the function of the Web site will be uninterrupted or error-free or that defects will be promptly corrected.
2.2. The City will generally strive to keep its Web information accurate and timely. The City neither warrants nor makes representations or endorsements as to the quality, content, accuracy, or completeness of the information, text, graphics, hyperlinks and other items contained on the Web servers.
2.3. The City of Foster City is not responsible for any special, indirect, incidental or consequential damages that may arise from the use of, or the inability to use, the Web site and/or the materials contained on the site whether the materials contained on the Web site are provided by the City or a third party.
2.4. Communications made via electronic mail (e-mail), including "mailto:" links, and messaging systems shall in no way be deemed to constitute public comment or legal notice to the City of Foster City.
2.5. The City of Foster City is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Requests for reasonable accommodations, with regard to equal access to communications, should be directed to City Hall by calling (650) 286-3200 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
3. Linking Policy
3.1. Hyperlinks on the City of Foster City Web site may lead to resources located on other servers, outside of the City. The City does not warrant or guarantee the security, reliability, accuracy, or usability of those websites.
3.2. The City of Foster City shall add and remove links to the City’s Web site at its discretion. The City may include hyperlinks to any site that, in the City’s determination, meet and/or provide resources that cultivate the goals and purpose of the City’s Web site.
3.3. In general, links are limited to government agencies, community wide organizations and City sponsored events.
3.4. The City of Foster City reserves the right to reject or remove links to external Web sites for any reason without notice.
4. Privacy Policy
4.1. The City of Foster City does not use its Web site to collect personal information for any purpose other than to respond to a user communication, or to complete an online transaction. If applicable, the City may utilize user-provided personal information to redirect a message to another agency that is in a better position to answer the question.
4.2. If a user chooses to use the City of Foster City Web site’s electronic-government capabilities to conduct business electronically with the City, the information collected will only be that which is necessary to provide the information or services the user requests, just as a person might provide such information when visiting a City facility in person. The information collected is subject to the same controls and uses as that collected by City of Foster City offices visited in person.
4.3. The City makes reasonable efforts to protect personal information shared with the City.
4.4. Cookies or other technology may transfer information from the City of Foster City's Web site to the user’s hard disk for record-keeping purposes. Cookies in and of themselves do not personally identify users, although they do identify a user's computer. If a user’s browser is set to refuse cookies, that user may not be able to take advantage of the full functionality of the City of Foster City's Web site.
4.5. The City tracks statistical information about overall usage of the Web site. The information does not identify individual users.
4.6. The City of Foster City employs software programs to monitor network traffic and identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise cause damage.
4.7. Neither the City of Foster City nor its Web site provider collects information for commercial marketing from its Web site. The City of Foster City will not send a user unsolicited e-mail regarding any commercial offers or advertisements at any time, nor will it give or sell such information to third parties or private organizations.
4.8. If a user chooses to join any of the City of Foster City’s Internet mailing lists ("listservs"), the City of Foster City will maintain the user’s e-mail address in the mailing list database in order to send messages related to the mailing list topic. The e-mail address information will not be used to send unsolicited e-mail.
4.9. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, information submitted to the City of Foster City's Web site may be subject to disclosure to another party pursuant to the provisions of California law, including, but not limited to, the California Civil Discovery Act of 1986 and the California Public Records Act.
4.10. Minor’s Privacy Policy: Any information collected by the City of Foster City Web site from minors is subject to the guidelines of the City’s general privacy policy, as described in this document.
5. Security
5.1. Unless a specific Web page on the City of Foster City's Web site indicates that encryption technology is being used, users should not assume that information uploaded through that Web page to the City of Foster City's Web server will be transmitted in a secure manner
5.2. If a user submits information to the City of Foster City's server through a Web page containing visible indicators of active encryption technology, the City of Foster City will take all reasonable precautions to transmit this information in a secure manner, but shall nevertheless not be held liable for any injury caused by the disclosure of that information, whether caused by security breach, accident, inadvertence, or any other act resulting in disclosure.
5.3. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on the City
