Well actually, federal employees can tweet on their own sweet time and with certain restrictions, as outlined by the recently released Standards of Conduct as Applied to Personal Social Media Use from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
These guidelines unify assorted and not always compatible rules from individual agencies and entities into one six-page memo – not bad for a legal advisory. What’s also nice is that it’s pretty easy to understand, even if some of the distinctions for OK and not OK usage are a bit nuanced.
Some guidelines are common sense:
Not OK: Posts during work hours or posts using government computers
OK: Posts from your personal mobile device during your lunch break or non-work hours
Not OK: Posts that disclose confidential information
Some guidelines are a bit more complicated:
OK: Personal fundraising efforts on social media that are compliant with the general fund-raising guidelines
Not OK: Personal fundraising efforts on social media that solicit from subordinates directly; it’s OK in a general newsfeed if the subordinate is a friend, for example, but not in a direct message or on their page and no replies back to a question from a subordinate in response to a general newsfeed post. Got that?
Guidelines regarding the use of your job title are a bit cumbersome also but in general, you can use your job title as descriptive information on your bio, but not in a way that can cause people to conclude your posts are endorsed or sanctioned by the government or that your opinions represent those of the agency where you are employed.
There are also guidelines for:
Recommending and Endorsing Others on Social Media
Seeking Employment Through Social Media
Anthony Weiner is still the undisputed heavyweight champion for having the all-time greatest Twitter blunder, yet not surprisingly, elected officials such as Congress are not a part of the audience to which the legal advisory is directed. Federal staff be warned because the rules are now in writing and official so think twice about that post before you hit enter because there are disciplinary consequences for misuse.
But federal employees aren’t the only ones who should think twice. Add celebrity journalists to the list. This shirtless post of Geraldo Rivera is something he should not have been shared on Twitter and even if he has regrets now, delete buttons just won’t make it go away.
If your business needs a social media policy, this legal advisory might be a good place to start. Get the full report here.
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Leisa Chester Weir