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Terms of Use for Mission China Social Media Platforms

Welcome to the U.S. Mission to China’s Terms of Use for its social media accounts! This information is provided to you by U.S. Mission China of the U.S. Department of State (“State Department”). For additional information regarding this site or about our programs and services please see our official website https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn

1. Acceptance of Terms of Use

The State Department provides this service to you subject to the provisions of this Terms of Use (“TOU”), which may be updated by the State Department from time to time without notice to you. By using this site, you are accepting these TOU and agreeing to be bound by them, including the provision that you, not the State Department, are entirely responsible for all material you post or otherwise make available via the site. Significant changes will be posted on the community home page and our official website: https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/ You can review the current version of the TOU at any time on the https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/ 

2. Purpose

The purpose of the United States Mission to China’s social media channels is to inform and educate Chinese audiences about the United States, its culture, foreign and domestic policies, and people as well as the U.S.-China relationship and for Chinese audiences to provide information, comments and ideas to the U.S. Mission to China in an informal, civil manner. We expect critical discussion and debate, which might include both support and criticism of U.S. policy. However, threatening or malicious statements about other individuals or groups are not acceptable.

3. Description of Service

This page outlines the privacy notices, terms of use, and disclaimer for all social media sites run by U.S. Mission China, including but not limited to Sina Weibo, Wechat, Youku, Tencent Video, Douban, Miaopai, Twitter, Flickr, iQiyi and blogs. Please note that users must also adhere to those platforms’ TOU. You can find each platform’s TOU on their websites (links to those TOU also listed at the end of this document.)

The U.S. Embassy Beijing, the US Consulate General in Guangzhou, the US Consulate General in Shanghai, the US Consulate General in Shenyang and the US Consulate General in Wuhan  each  manage their respective social media platforms as listed below.

The US Embassy in Beijing:

The US Consulate General Guangzhou:

The US Consulate General Shanghai:

The US Consulate General Shenyang:

The US Consulate General Wuhan:

They provide members with a variety of features, including but not limited to: video and photo sharing, access to a community blog, discussion forum, messaging, chat, and notifications of developments in the U.S.-China relationship. The U.S. Department of State reserves the right to alter the types of features that U.S. Mission China provides at any time with no notice to network members.

4. Social Media Platform’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Each Social Media Platform has its own Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, of which you should be aware, and which can be found at links listed at the bottom of this document.  This is the policy for the platform while this TOU is for US Mission accounts.  Please note that this Social Media Platform maintains that by using this platform you are agreeing to be bound by that Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for the platform and for our account. The State Department will not be responsible if you violate the platform requirements.

You share content on the site at your own risk. Although these Social Media Platforms may allow you to set privacy options that limit access to your information, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. Further, neither the State Department nor this Social Media Platform can control the actions of other Users with whom you share your profile and information. Therefore, the State Department cannot and does not guarantee that User Content you post on the site will not be used improperly or viewed by other individuals.

5. Security

Participation in this Social Media Platform is voluntary. You accept responsibility for maintaining the confidentiality of your login information, and for all activities that occur under your login. You should immediately notify the platform of any unauthorized use of your login or account or any other breach of security. You agree that the State Department is not liable in any way for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with this Section. See the Terms of Use for each of the Social Media Platforms referenced above for additional information on its security practices.

6. Member Conduct

You understand that all information, data, messages or other materials (“Content”), whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, are the sole responsibility of the person posting or transmitting such Content. This means that you, and not the State Department, accept full responsibility for all Content that you post, email, transmit or otherwise make available via the site.

You agree not to use the site in a manner that falls outside of its limited purpose set out in these TOU. For example, you agree not to use this site to:

  • post or otherwise make available threats of violence or harm to any individual or group; obscene, vulgar, or lewd material; fraudulent statements; terms commonly understood to constitute profanity or abusive or degrading slurs or epithets;
  • impersonate any actual person, entity, corporation, government or representative thereof;
  • post or otherwise make available any Content that you do not have a right to make available, including but not limited to material restricted by intellectual property or other proprietary rights, material that is classified or otherwise legally protected, or material protected by contractual or fiduciary obligations;
  • post or otherwise make available information about yourself or other individuals that could be misused, such as for identity theft, including visa application information (this restriction is intended to protect you and others)
  • post or otherwise make available any advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation;
  • post or otherwise make available any malware or other material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment; or designed to gather sensitive information or gain privileged access to private computer systems; or
  • stalk, harass or otherwise harm another individual or group.

You agree not to use any portion of the site for commercial gain, including its Content, the use of the site, or access to the site, including by commercially reproducing, duplicating, copying, selling, or reselling.

7. State Department Content Management

The State Department does not endorse any user-posted Content or otherwise suggest or guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such Content. You understand that by visiting this site, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent or objectionable. You agree that under no circumstances is the State Department liable in any way for any non-Department-generated Content (including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any Content), or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available via the site.

You acknowledge that the State Department does not pre-screen or otherwise control user-generated Content, but that the State Department and its designees shall have the right (but not the obligation), in their sole discretion, to delete or move any Content, in whole or in part, that violates these TOU.

You acknowledge and agree that the U.S. Department of State may keep a record of users’ violations of these TOU in order to detect patterns of such violations and to ensure that the community remains an open forum for dialogue.

You acknowledge and agree that the State Department may preserve Content and may also disclose Content if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) comply with Department records retention policies; (c) enforce the TOU; (d) respond to claims that any Content violates the rights of third parties; or (e) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of the State Department, its employees, the Department’s online community members, and/or the public. The Department of State may report violent or threatening content to the appropriate law enforcement agency.

You agree that the State Department has no responsibility or liability for the deletion of or failure to store any messages and other communications or other Content maintained or transmitted by the site.

8. Special Caution for International Use

You agree to accept responsibility for all personal conduct associated with your use of this site, including all content posted or otherwise made available by you.

You must evaluate and bear all risks associated with the transmission or use of Content on this site. Compliance with these TOU and with each social media platforms’ terms does not guarantee compliance with local and national laws of the country in which you reside. The U.S. Government and Department of State cannot protect individual users from the consequences of violations of the laws of other nations.

9. Intellectual Property Rights to Content Submitted or Made Available for Inclusion on the Site

The State Department does not claim ownership of Content you submit or make available for inclusion on the site. Unless the Content explicitly states otherwise, all user-generated content uploaded to this site is provided pursuant to, and accompanied by, a restricted license as follows: user-generated content that is uploaded to the site will not be used for commercial purposes; no derivative works will be made; and full attribution will be given. This license is valid internationally. You specifically agree that you are providing your Content pursuant to this license to the State Department. You agree that your use of other users’ Content will be in accordance with this license.

U.S. Government-generated posted Content, however, may be used or reproduced, provided that it is not used for commercial gain. The State Department has an agreement with the Associated Press (AP) which allows the use of copyrighted AP images on the State Department’s social media sites. The AP maintains ownership and copyright for these images, and the use of them by the State Department does not enter them into the public domain. You agree not to copy, download, or redistribute any AP image found on this or any other State Department social media site.

10. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the State Department, officials, agents, grantees or other partners, and the employees thereof, from any claim or demand, made by any third party due to or arising out of Content you submit, post, transmit or make available through the site; your use of the site; your connection to the site; or your violation of the TOU or any rights of a third party and to compensate them for reasonable attorneys’ fees in connection with such claims or demands.

11. Modifications to Service

The State Department reserves the right at any time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the community (or any part thereof). You agree that the State Department shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the community.

12. Termination 

You agree that the State Department, in its sole discretion, may terminate your access to the community, and remove and discard any Content within the community, for any reason, including, without limitation, if the State Department believes that you have violated or acted inconsistently with these TOU (see paragraph 6, Member Conduct). You acknowledge and agree that any termination or suspension of your access to the community under any provision of these TOU may be effected without prior notice. Further, you agree that the State Department shall not be liable to you or any third party for any termination of your access to the community.

13. Links to External Sites

This social media platforms listed above may provide, or third parties may provide, links to other websites or resources. You acknowledge and agree that the State Department does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, malware or other software, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. These third party sites operate under separate Terms of Use and Privacy Policies. You are encouraged to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects information from you. You further acknowledge and agree that the State Department shall not be responsible or liable for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly, by or in connection with use of the content, software, goods or services available on or through any such site or resource.

14. Third Party Applications

Due to the nature of this social media platform, the State Department may use third-party applications in order to provide the community with additional functionality. Each application has its own Terms of Use and Privacy Policies. The State Department is not responsible for the collection of any information conducted by these third party applications. Applications in use on this site that have separate Terms of Use and Privacy Policies include: hootsuite.com.

15. Accessibility

The Chinese social media sites listed above do not offer ways to make their use compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which addresses the accessibility of content to persons with disabilities.  However, Mission China strives to make the content it posts to these platforms, particularly video content, 508 compliant when possible.

16. Language

Mission China social media content is primarily posted in Mandarin.

17. Contacting the Community Manager

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please contact the U.S. Mission China Social Media Community Managers: BeijingWebmaster@state.gov

Also, be sure to check out our official website at https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn  for additional information, resources, and services. 

18. Appendix

Terms of Use of Chinese social media platforms that Mission China use:

  • Sina’s Terms of Use

http://corp.sina.com.cn/chn/sina_item.html

  • Sina Weibo’s Terms of Use

http://weibo.com/signup/v5/protocol

  • Wechat’s Terms of Use

https://weixin.qq.com/agreement?lang=zh_CN

  • Tencent’s Terms of Use:

http://www.qq.com/contract.shtml

  • Douban’s Terms of Use:

https://www.douban.com/about?policy=disclaimer

  • Miaopai’s Terms of Use:

http://wscdn.miaopai.com/static20131031/miaopai/html/explain.html?qq-pf-to=pcqq.c2c

  • Twitter’s Terms of Use:

https://twitter.com/tos?lang=en

  • Flickr’s Terms of Use:

https://www.flickr.com/terms.gne

  • Meipai’s Terms of Use:

http://www.meipai.com/agreement