Social media: Concept of the state capital Stuttgart

The state capital of Stuttgart uses social media platforms to provide Stuttgart residents and all those who wish to participate in city life - such as guests and visitors - with up-to-date, direct and transparent information about the work of the city administration, current topics, projects and opportunities for participation. Social media complements the classic communication channels of the state capital (website, press work, print media) and offers the opportunity for direct dialog with the people of Stuttgart.

The City of Stuttgart is currently active on the following platforms:

• Facebook (information, participation, dialog)
• Instagram (visual insights into projects, events, city life)
• Mastodon (current news)
• YouTube (video contributions on projects, events, urban development)
• TikTok (creative, video-based approach to young target groups)
• LinkedIn / Xing (personnel recruitment, communication with specialists, networking)
• X (crisis communication)

Each platform is used according to its specific formats and user groups.

The overall coordination and strategic management of the city's social media communication lies with the  Communication Department of the City of Stuttgart. The online team is responsible for the operation and editorial support of the central channels. The offices and departments that operate their own social media channels coordinate this in consultation with the Communications department.

The platform operators also process personal user data through the use of cookies, tracking tools and similar technologies for the operation and provision of the services, but also for advertising purposes. The information is used to evaluate the activities and behavioral patterns of people using the platforms or to report misconduct. This also applies to those who are not logged in or registered on the platform while visiting the site.

The types of cookies used are described in detail in the respective data protection declarations of the City of Stuttgart and in special "cookie guidelines" of the platform operators to which we link. There you will also find a list of cookies and tracking technologies as well as further information on how cookies can be individually controlled. For example, device settings can be adjusted so that the advertising ID is managed and personalized advertising is deactivated. Further information can usually be found from the platform operators under menu items such as "Privacy settings" or "Account privacy settings".

How and to what extent personal user data is processed by the platform operators is not transparent or verifiable in detail. The City of Stuttgart has no influence over this.

Cookies can also be managed and deactivated in the user's own web browser, which is also possible without an account with the platform operator. The browser can be configured so that no cookies are stored on the user's device or a message always appears before a new cookie is created. However, the complete deactivation of cookies may impair the functionality of the platform. Each browser differs in the way it manages cookie settings. They are described in more detail in the browser's help menu. The respective browser information can be found, for example, under the following links

Microsoft Edge:
 https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/help/17442/windows-internet-explorer-delete-manage-cookies (opens in a new tab)

Firefox:

•  https://support.mozilla.org/de/kb/cookies-loeschen-daten-von-websites-entfernen (opens in a new tab)
•  https://support.mozilla.org/de/kb/verbesserter-schutz-aktivitatenverfolgung-desktop (opens in a new tab)
•  https://support.mozilla.org/de/kb/Cookies-blockieren (opens in a new tab)

Firefox for Android:
 https://support.mozilla.org/de/kb/cookies-aktivieren-deaktivieren-firefox-android (opens in a new tab)

Safari:
 https://support.apple.com/de-de/guide/safari/sfri11471/mac (opens in a new tab)

Chrome:
 https://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=de&hlrm=en&answer=95647 (opens in a new tab)

Opera:
 https://help.opera.com/de/latest/security-and-privacy/ (opens in a new tab)

If external service providers or agencies are involved in the support or content creation, this is done on the basis of order processing contracts in accordance with Art. 28 GDPR.

The platform operators sometimes transfer the information collected to partners or group companies in unsafe third countries. In doing so, they base the transfer on  adequacy decisions (opens in a new tab)or the EU Commission's  Standard Contractual Clauses (opens in a new tab) and the  EU-US Data Privacy Framework (opens in a new tab) for data transfers to the USA in order to ensure an adequate level of data protection. The platform operators thereby undertake to comply with the European level of data protection, even if the data is processed in insecure third countries. Further information on the transfer of data to insecure third countries can be found in the privacy policies of the platform operators, which we link to in our privacy policies for the respective platforms.

The City of Stuttgart acts as the controller within the meaning of Art. 4 No. 7 GDPR when operating municipal social media channels. It decides alone or together with platform operators on the purposes and means of data processing in connection with the content it posts, the interaction with users and the content and technical support of the channels.

The platform operators (Meta, Mastodon, TikTok, Google/YouTube, LinkedIn) also process users' personal data on their own responsibility and for their own purposes or together with the site operators, e.g. to analyze user behavior or for personalized advertising. The City of Stuttgart has no influence on the independent data processing of the platform operators; in particular, we generally have no access to personal data for usage analysis.

For certain functions, in particular reach and interaction analysis (e.g. Facebook Insights), according to current case law, there is joint responsibility under Art. 26 GDPR between the City of Stuttgart and the platform operator, even if we only receive aggregated anonymous usage statistics. In the case of other platforms (e.g. TikTok or LinkedIn), joint responsibility must therefore also be assumed. The platform operators sometimes provide corresponding agreements for this, such as  LinkedIn (opens in a new tab) or  TikTok (opens in a new tab). Reference is made to these in the data protection declaration of the City of Stuttgart, insofar as they are available.

Each phase of the processing of personal data relating to our use of social media platforms is based on a legal basis, in particular Art. 6 GDPR. Insofar as the users give their consent, e.g. in the consent window, for example for the use of cookies or tracking technologies, Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR is the legal basis. Our processing of personal data is also based on our performance of public tasks in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. e GDPR in conjunction with Section 4 LDSG BW, whereby the performance of tasks results from the purposes described, i.e. information on current topics of the city administration or an open dialog with citizens (see above for details).

If people who use the platforms actively contact us, e.g. via posts, comments, forms or chat functions, we process their personal data, e.g. name, contact details, their request, etc., to process the request and communication. For this purpose, we store the data in our CRM system. Depending on the type of inquiry, the legal basis for this data processing is our public task performance in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. e GDPR in conjunction with Section 4 LDSG BW, e.g. to answer a general inquiry, or Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR if the inquiry is aimed at concluding a contract.

In cases of crisis communication, warnings or current reports, social media platforms can help us to ensure public safety, e.g. by warning of pollutants, heavy rain or terrorist attacks. The legal basis for this is then Article 6(1)(e) or (c) GDPR in conjunction with a special legal provision.

Data subjects can assert their rights under Art. 12 et seq. GDPR (e.g. information, rectification, erasure, objection) directly with the City of Stuttgart. Corresponding information and contact options can be found in the  privacy policy (opens in a new tab) linked on the social media channels.

Insofar as data processing is carried out by the platform operators themselves, data subjects are also referred to the respective data protection guidelines and contact options of the platform operators in the data protection declaration.

Social networks are only used if the communication and information objectives pursued cannot be achieved equally effectively via traditional municipal channels (website, official gazette, press work).

• Facebook/Instagram: High reach among target groups over the age of 25, central platforms for service information, participation opportunities and projects related to the everyday lives of Stuttgart residents as well as event communication
• Mastodon: Latest news
• YouTube: Central video platform for in-depth coverage of complex topics
• TikTok: Specific reach in the under-30 age group, visual, entertaining and low-threshold approach, communication in an age group that does not or hardly ever uses traditional city channels.
• LinkedIn / Xing: Personnel recruiting, communication with specialists, networking
• X: Crisis communication

The necessity of using each platform is regularly reviewed.

For the operation of social media channels, the City of Stuttgart has carried out a  data protection impact assessment (opens in a new tab)in accordance with Art. 35 GDPR in order to record, weigh up and reduce the risks to the data subjects as far as possible. This is regularly reviewed and updated as necessary.

The City of Stuttgart pursues an information security concept that implements the technical and organizational security measures required according to the state of the art and the relevant standards and is laid down in a "Guideline on Information Security". We respect the settings made by users, e.g. in the browser or user account (such as the deactivation of cookies, tracking tools or location data) and will not make any effort to switch off or circumvent such protective and defensive measures.

We only store users' personal data on our systems for as long as this is required for the intended purpose or for as long as there are statutory retention obligations. If inquiries are sent to us, we store the data during the processing period and for six months after the end of processing. We then delete the data.

Many social media platforms store data not only on servers in the EU, but also in the USA or other third countries. The social media platforms are responsible for determining the storage period and usually provide information about this in their privacy policies. We will provide as much information as possible about the storage periods in the privacy policies of the individual social media platforms. How long data is stored beyond this is beyond our knowledge.

The City of Stuttgart provides factual information on current topics, service information, projects, events and opportunities for participation via its social media channels. Comments and contributions are expressly welcome, provided they relate to the content of the respective posts and comply with the principles of a factual, respectful exchange.

The  netiquette (opens in a new tab) of the City of Stuttgart sets out the rules of conduct for the use of the city's channels and is available on the city's website.

The profiles of the city's social media channels each contain a clear reference with a link to the  data protection declaration (opens in a new tab) and the  legal notice (opens in a new tab) of the City of Stuttgart. This explains the data processing, responsibilities and rights of the data subjects. In our respective data protection declarations for the social media platforms, we fulfill all our legal information obligations in detail, in particular in accordance with Art. 12 ff. GDPR.

The City of Stuttgart regularly reviews this social media concept and the data protection information and adapts it in the event of technical, organizational or legal changes.

(Status: July 2025)