City Website Content Requirements Policy

Overview

This Policy addresses content style, prohibited content, content removal, and linking on Official City Websites and other websites representing the city. 

Purpose

The purpose of this Policy is to ensure all content on Official City Websites is relevant, accurate, appropriate, and compliant with federal requirements for operating a .gov domain. The .gov top-level domain is operated by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). 

Scope

This Policy applies to Official City Websites. All other websites representing the city (i.e., websites that are outside the .gov top-level domain and not hosted or supported by OTI) are highly encouraged to follow this Policy. Anyone who has a role in overseeing, generating, editing, or publishing content on Official City Websites is responsible for adhering to this Policy. 

Authority

Chapter 48 of the NYC Charter promulgates OTI’s authority and oversight with respect to all Citywide information technology, information security, information privacy and telecommunications. 

Terms and definitions

Official City Websites: All websites on the nyc.gov domain, as well as any other website where content is controlled by OTI. 

Roles and responsibilities

OTI’s Digital Service team is responsible for digital strategy, user experience, and content guidelines for all NYC government digital properties.

OTI’s Web Operations team provides access to the city’s content management systems (“CMS”), which allow users to publish and delete content for all websites man-aged via these CMS. Web Operations is responsible for enforcement of this policy. 

Content style

All content on Official City Websites must conform to the NYC web content style guide.

Prohibited content

The following content is prohibited on Official City Websites:

• Any content that supports or opposes candidates for office, political campaigns, political parties, referenda, or pending legislation unless it has been introduced, submitted, or formally supported or opposed by the City
• Any content that would violate the NYS Penal Law including, but not limited to, depictions or descriptions of violence, nudity, or sexual activities
• Any content that includes hate speech or promotes discrimination based on reli-gion, race, gender, national origin, or sexual orientation
• Any content that would be perceived as an endorsement or advertisement for commercial purposes, provided that links to otherwise permissible websites that contain commercial advertisements shall not be prohibited
• Any site that distributes or promotes illegal content or malware, hosts open redirects, or engages in malicious cyber activity
• Any content prohibited by CISA’s requirements for .gov domains (specifically content used for commercial, political, illegal, or malicious purposes)
• Any prohibited link (see below, Website Linking)
  

Content removal

Content on Official City Websites must be relevant, accurate, and appropriate. Agencies must remove any content that does not meet these standards. If agencies do not comply, Web Operations may address violations of this Policy by, for example, removing content and links, inserting exit messaging, or revoking publishing privileges.

Agencies must determine if content is relevant, accurate, and appropriate. In addition, agencies are to consider any relevant legal or regulatory requirements for keeping specific content available to the public via the web (such as a court order requiring certain data to be kept publicly accessible).

The following are OTI’s general guidelines for identifying content that may be irrelevant, inaccurate, or inappropriate. Remove content that meet any of the following criteria:

• Last updated more than five years ago
• Page had fewer than 100 users in the last 365 days
• Redundant with content on other pages
• Incorrect content (ensure that a corrected version is available elsewhere)
• Not functional (i.e., a form that no longer accepts responses)
• Not specifically about New York City, and a better source can be found on another site (i.e., general information about a disease)
• Outdated, such as:
  • Information about an initiative that is no longer active
  • Information about a service that is no longer available
  • A policy that has been superseded by a new policy
• Prohibited by the provisions in the previous section

Agencies should keep a copy of removed content in non-publicly accessible storage. 

Website linking

Permitted links

• Other government websites
• Non-government websites that represent or facilitate city business or further a city purpose by providing added benefit to users and supporting city functions
• Official city social media pages that conform to the Citywide Social Media Policy
• Non-city websites that provide access to relevant information or support for users related to essential services in furtherance of a city purpose, constituting official city business (e.g., utilities and communication franchises)
• Social media pages for essential service providers if those pages facilitate users’ access to critical information about services (e.g., the social page for a utilities provider during a blackout or communications franchises during a weather emergency)
• Websites of authorized city vendors where the link facilitates access to (1) essential services that the city itself does not provide or (2) entities that are providing services on city property (e.g., foster care providers, city franchisees, and concessionaires providing amenities in city facilities)  
• Websites related to specific initiatives or events that are organized or sponsored by the city (e.g., NYC marathon, NYC Service volunteer opportunities)
• Websites for services that help users access and take advantage of official government content (e.g., Adobe Reader, Google Translate)
• Specific press articles that would further a city purpose and do not contain any prohibited content (e.g., a link to an article about the Municipal Building rather than a link to the homepage of localpaper.com)
  

Prohibited links

• Any website containing prohibited content as described in the previous section “Prohibited Content”
• Any website that does not advance a city purpose
  

Note: Exit notifications are no longer required for external links. 

Enforcement

Compliance with this policy is required, as CISA may suspend or terminate the nyc.gov domain. Additionally, OTI may remove any page or link it deems to be in violation of this policy in its discretion. 

Related policies and procedures

This Policy complies with CISA’s requirements for .gov domains.

This Policy works in conjunction with the following policies:

• NYC Public Digital Experiences Policy
• Citywide Social Media Policy
• Usage of nyc.gov Domain Policy
• nyc.gov Privacy Policy
• Citywide Privacy Protection Policies and Protocols 
  

Ownership information

This Policy is owned by OTI Strategic Initiatives, Digital Service division. Contact us with questions about this Policy.

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