Recently, a new Standards of Conduct document has been created and put out by The US Office
of Government Ethics. The document regards federal employees’ uses of social media and provides clarification on how to use personal social media accounts when working for the government.
Under these rules, employees will be able to use personal
social media accounts, but must abide by rules regarding issues as varied as
whether or not to post your job title, to asking an employee you supervise to help you with your
personal social media account.
Work titles and some other job specifics are able to be used
under suggested disclaimers, adding to the trend we already see regarding
posting wording such as “tweets are my own” and “retweets do not equal
endorsement” that are already prevalent in Twitter bios. Disclaimers help to
provide clarity and avoid legal issues.
Another clarification provided in the document is the use of
LinkedIn “endorsements.” It is important that employees avoid “trigger[ing] the
seeking employment rules” on that site, which is traditionally an employment-seeking and networking platform.
“Violations can lead to disciplinary actions, up to firing,”
The Washington Post reported.
Given our current class projects regarding federal and local
government social media class policies, it is interesting to see what policies are being
created at the US federal government level, and how those policies might shift and shape other
organizations’ best practices moving forward.
It seems that common sense restrictions are still the best
personal policy to abide by, but it is important to have official clarification
provided to employees to avoid mishaps.
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