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The School of Communication and Media Studies (ESCS) Social Media Policy sets out the principles, standards and procedures governing ESCS's institutional presence across digital platforms and social media. Its purpose is to ensure communication that is consistent, responsible, accessible and strategically aligned with the School's mission, institutional values and the applicable legal framework.

1. Scope

This Social Media Policy establishes the principles, standards, responsibilities and procedures governing the School's institutional presence on digital platforms and social media.

This Policy aims to ensure communication that is:
● consistent;  
● strategic;  
● ethical;  
● accessible;  
● transparent;  
● aligned with the mission, vision and institutional values of ESCS.  

The Policy applies to all official ESCS social media accounts, as well as to the creation, publication and management of institutional content across digital platforms.

2. Strategic Objectives

ESCS's presence on social media pursues the following strategic objectives:
● To strengthen the School's visibility and institutional reputation;
● To promote its educational, research, cultural and pedagogical activities; 
● To showcase the projects, activities and initiatives of the academic community; 
● To support the recruitment of both domestic and international students; 
● To foster engagement with alumni, partners and other stakeholders;  
● To encourage participation and engagement across the academic community; 
● To ensure transparent, accessible and up-to-date institutional communication;  
● To strengthen ESCS's digital identity and positioning. 

3. Target Audiences

ESCS's digital communication is aimed, among others, at the following audiences:
● Current students;  
● Prospective students;  
● Alumni;  
● Academic staff;  
● Researchers;  
● Professional, Technical and Administrative Staff;  
● Institutional partners;  
● Media organisations;  
● The scientific community;  
● The general public.

4. Guiding Principles

ESCS's digital presence is guided by the following principles:
● Accuracy and reliability of information;
● Institutional transparency;
● Ethical and legal responsibility;
● Respect for fundamental rights, freedoms and guarantees;
● Promotion of inclusion and diversity;
● Digital accessibility;
● Editorial and visual consistency;
● An approachable and human-centred communication style;
● Recognition and promotion of the academic community; 
● Innovation and adaptation to contemporary digital communication practices.

5. Tone of Voice and Institutional Language

ESCS's communication on social media should be adapted to the specific characteristics of each platform while consistently preserving the School's credibility and institutional identity.

The language used should be:
● clear;
● accessible;
● inclusive;
● contemporary;
● appropriate to the target audience;
● aligned with the School's institutional positioning.

More informal, dynamic or creative formats and approaches may be adopted on social or audiovisual platforms, provided that they do not compromise:
● the accuracy and reliability of information;
● the School's institutional reputation;
● the ethical principles of ESCS.

The use of humour, digital trends, emojis or a more conversational style should always be guided by appropriateness, context and sound institutional judgement.

6. Official Platforms

The following social media accounts are recognised as ESCS's official institutional accounts:
● Facebook: www.facebook.com/ESCSipl
● Instagram: @escs.ipl / www.instagram.com/escs.ipl  
● LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/school/escola-superior-de-comunicacao-social  
● YouTube: www.youtube.com/ESCSipl  
● Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/escs-ipl/albums
● TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@escs.ipl

The creation of new institutional accounts is subject to:

1. a clearly defined purpose, target audience and governance model;  
2. a recommendation from the Communications Office;  
3. prior approval by the School's Executive Board. 

7. Platform Strategy

Communication should be tailored to the specific characteristics and objectives of each platform.

8. Governance and Responsibilities

8.1 Institutional Management

The editorial and operational management of ESCS's institutional social media accounts is the responsibility of the Communications Office.

The Communications Service is responsible for::
● defining editorial strategies;  
● ensuring institutional consistency;  
● managing editorial planning and content scheduling;  
● moderating interactions;  
● monitoring performance;  
● coordinating communications during crisis situations.  

8.2 Access Management

Institutional accounts must:
● be linked to institutional email addresses; 
● use multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible;  
● be subject to internal controls governing access permissions and credentials.

The management of institutional accounts must not rely exclusively on personal accounts.

Whenever an individual with access to the platforms changes role or ceases to work or collaborate with ESCS, their access permissions must be revoked or updated without delay.

8.3 Content Approval

All institutional content must be approved by the Communications Office prior to publication, except in the case of previously authorised live event coverage.

9. Content Creation and Publication

9.1 General Criteria

Published content must:

● be aligned with the mission and activities of ESCS;
● present accurate and verifiable information;
● be appropriate to the target audiences;
● comply with ethical, legal and institutional principles;
● prioritise accessible and inclusive formats.

9.2 Editorial Standards

Content must:
● comply with the applicable Portuguese Orthographic Agreement;
● use clear and inclusive language;
● acknowledge sources and provide appropriate credits where applicable;
● maintain editorial and visual consistency.

9.3 Digital Accessibility

ESCS is committed to promoting digital accessibility through, among other measures:
● the provision of captions for audiovisual content;
● the use of appropriate colour contrast;
● the use of clear and legible text;
● the inclusion of alternative text for images, wherever possible;
● the adaptation of content for different formats and devices.

9.4 Restrictions

The publication of content that:
● is offensive, discriminatory or unlawful;
● promotes hate speech or violence;
● expresses political or partisan views on behalf of ESCS;
● constitutes unauthorised external commercial content;
● discloses confidential or sensitive information;
● infringes copyright or data protection legislation, is strictly prohibited.

10. Artificial Intelligence and Digital Tools

The use of artificial intelligence tools to support content creation must comply with the following principles:
● transparency;
● human oversight;
● editorial review;
● data protection; and
● respect for copyright.

The use of such tools does not remove the requirement for human review and approval prior to the publication of institutional content.

11.Image Rights and Intellectual Property

The publication of images, videos, or other content that enable the identification of individuals must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other applicable legislation.

Whenever legally required, prior consent must be obtained.

The use of academic works, projects, or content produced by students must:
● identify authorship whenever applicable;
● respect copyright;
● ensure appropriate authorisation for institutional use.

12. Sharing of External Content

The sharing of external content may only take place when:
● there is a relevant institutional relationship;
● the content aligns with ESCS’s values;
● the original source is properly identified.

ESCS reserves the right to refuse the sharing of content deemed inappropriate or misaligned with its institutional strategy.

13. Interaction and Moderation

13.1 Principles of Interaction

ESCS promotes a digital environment that is:
● respectful;
● inclusive;
● participatory;
● informed.

Institutional responses shall be guided by:
● professionalism;
● clarity;
● courtesy.

13.2 Moderation

Content may be removed if it:

● violates applicable legislation;
● contains hate speech;
● promotes violence;
● is offensive or abusive;
● constitutes spam;
● disseminates misinformation. 

13.3 Measures

In cases of non-compliance, ESCS may:
● remove content;
● restrict interactions;
● block users in cases of repeated offences or serious breaches.

13.4 Response Times

ESCS will endeavour to respond to messages and interactions within a reasonable timeframe, preferably within two working days.

More complex situations may be referred to formal institutional channels.

14. Instagram Collaboration Policy

14.1 General Principles

The acceptance of collaboration posts is subject to prior approval by the Communication Service.

14.2 Approval Criteria
Requests may be approved when:
● they have been previously coordinated with the Communication Service;
● they demonstrate institutional relevance;
● they promote academic, scientific, cultural, or pedagogical initiatives;
● they are associated with ESCS lecturers, students, projects, or partners.

14.3 Editorial Planning

The scheduling of collaborations depends on:
● institutional editorial planning;
● publication availability;
● the strategic priority of the content.

Approval does not imply immediate publication.

14.4 Content Guidelines

Content must:
● respect ESCS’s visual and editorial identity;
● use appropriate language;
● avoid commercial or party-political content;
● comply with ethical and legal principles.

The Communication Service may propose editorial changes prior to publication.

15. Digital Crisis Management

The following, among others, are considered digital crisis situations:
● the dissemination of misinformation;
● reputational incidents;
● negative viral content;
● coordinated attacks;
● the unauthorised disclosure of institutional information.

In such situations:
● communication shall be centralised;
● the Directorate shall be informed immediately;
● the principles of transparency, accuracy, and timeliness shall be upheld.

Where necessary, the following may be defined:
● levels of severity;
● designated response leads;
● specific escalation procedures.

16. Conduct of the Academic Community

ESCS recognises and respects the right to freedom of individual expression.

However, members of the academic community who publicly identify themselves as being affiliated with ESCS should avoid:
● representing ESCS in an institutional capacity without the authorisation of both the Department Coordination and the Directorate;
● disclosing confidential information;
● publishing content that could seriously compromise the institution’s reputation.

17. Monitoring and Evaluation

ESCS’s digital presence should be monitored on an ongoing basis, taking into account both quantitative and qualitative indicators, including:
● reach;
● engagement;
● audience growth;
● digital sentiment and reputation;
● institutional impact;
● platform-specific performance.

The results obtained should inform the continuous refinement of the communication strategy.

18. Limitation of Liability

ESCS shall not be held liable for:
● content published by third parties;
● the accuracy of opinions expressed by followers;
● interruptions or technical failures of social media platforms;
● external content shared through hyperlinks.

Each follower is responsible for the content they publish.

19. Terms of Use

Use of ESCS’s official social media channels implies:
● acceptance of this policy;
● compliance with the rules of the respective platforms;
● appropriate and non-abusive use of the channels.

The use of the institutional pages for the following purposes is prohibited:
● unauthorised commercial activities;
● the dissemination of misinformation;
● unlawful or abusive practices.

20. Policy Updates

ESCS reserves the right to review and update this policy whenever necessary.

Any amendments shall enter into force upon their official publication by ESCS.

Last updated: 25 June 2026