Use social media responsibly

The government yesterday published its draft guidelines for the public servants on social media use.

The 11-point guideline, which advises government officials on how to use their official and personal accounts in the social media, will be applicable to all ministries, divisions, directorates, agencies, field-level offices, education and training institutions.

In a circular issued to divisional and deputy commissioners and upazila nirbahi officers on October 28, the cabinet division observed that some field-level officials were sharing on Facebook their personal matters, not related to their work.

Those posts do not go with the image of the administration, it said.

The guidelines, which fixed a set of do's and don'ts for public servants, say they cannot publish any content against the national unity and spirit. 

They cannot publish any discriminatory or demeaning posts against any indigenous and ethnic minority community and contents relating to any political ideology or discussion, said the guidelines. 

No government officials will publish contents that may belittle any person, institution or the state, support gender discrimination and provoke public discontent or untoward behaviour.

Personal accounts of public servants would not come under these guidelines but they have to ensure responsible behavior and abide by rules and regulations as responsible citizens.

They will have to be careful in selecting social media friends and avoid unnecessary chatting.

The public servant concerned will be responsible for any misuse of social media account or any harmful content posted from the account. In such a case, he or she might have to face action as per the law.

A social media account or page representing any government office has to be created by the office, not by any person. But three to five officials can be selected as admins, who will use strong password and update the page or account twice a week.

No personal photos will be used as the cover or profile pictures. Officials will have to refrain from posting personal or family related contents during institutional communications, among others.

The draft guidelines said every government office would have to review the effectiveness of its social media use every three months. Initiatives of each office will have to be reviewed regularly through social media dialogues.

A user can be rewarded locally or nationally every year in categories like best post, best comment and best page, among others.

It said use of social media at government offices must follow the country's laws and rules. 

The guidelines have been drafted to ensure security and secrecy in the use of social media at public offices.