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Designing social media policy for government

Abstract

Introduction

Social Media Use in Government

Eight Essential Elements

Getting Started: Designing a social media policy

APPENDIX A: Methodology

APPENDIX B: Table of Social Media Policies and Guidelines (International and Federal)

APPENDIX B: Table of Social Media Policies and Guidelines (State and Local)

APPENDIX C: Table of reviewed documents by issue areas (International and Federal)

APPENDIX C: Table of reviewed documents by issue areas (State and Local)
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Eight Essential Elements

7. Legal Issues

The use of social media tools raises the issue for many agencies about how to ensure that their employees are abiding by all existing laws and regulations. Some policies take a general approach to legal issues, using generic text that requires all employees to adhere to all applicable laws and regulations without actually specifying which laws and regulations are applicable. Others point to specific areas of law such as privacy, freedom of speech, freedom of information, public records management, public disclosure, and accessibility.

A number of policies include language outlining records management and retention schedules for content posted to social media sites. The policies that address this issue focus on retaining social media records, but a few include language related to the removal of records (for example, see bullet 6 in the City of Hampton, Virginia policy below). The State of Massachusetts highlights the transitory nature of records in its guidelines on Twitter and provides instructions on how to download Tweets from Twitter to prevent loss of content.

Some policies proactively address potential legal issues by requiring the use of various disclaimers on social media sites. One example of a standard disclaimer is for use by employees when engaging in social media activities and is intended to detach the opinions and actions of individual employees from their employer. For example, The City of Hampton, Virginia directs its employees who choose to engage citizens on social media sites on behalf of the City to “Make it clear that you are speaking for yourself and not on behalf of the City of Hampton. If you publish content on any website outside of the City of Hampton and it has something to do with the work you do or subjects associated with the City, use a disclaimer such as this: ‘The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent the City’s positions or opinions.’ ” Other standard disclaimers concern public records, external links, endorsements, copyright, privacy, and offensive behavior.

Sample disclaimer for comments being treated as public records

“Posts and comments to and from me, in connection with the transaction of public business, is subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.”

~State of North Carolina

Sample language outlining specific laws and impact

“All City of Hampton social networking sites shall adhere to applicable state, federal and local laws, regulations and policies including all Information Technology and Records Management City policies and other applicable City policies.
  1. . . .
  2. . . .
  3. Freedom of Information Act and e-discovery laws and policies apply to social media content and therefore content must be able to be managed, stored and retrieved to comply with these laws.
  4. City of Hampton social networking sites are subject to Library of Virginia’s (LVA) public records laws. Relevant City of Hampton and (LVA) records retention schedules apply to social networking content. Records required to be maintained pursuant to a relevant records retention schedule shall be maintained for the required retention period in a format that preserves the integrity of the original record and is easily accessible using the approved City platforms and tools.
  5. All social network sites and entries shall clearly indicate that any articles and any other content posted or submitted for posting are subject to public disclosure.
  6. Content submitted for posting that is deemed not suitable for posting by a City of Hampton social networking moderator because it is not topically related to the particular social networking site objective being commented upon, or is deemed prohibited content based on the criteria in Policy–Item 9. of this policy, shall be retained pursuant to the records retention schedule along with a description of the reason the specific content is deemed not suitable for posting.”
~ City of Hampton, Virginia