Exploring Local Government Social Media Risks

As state municipal leagues and league-sponsored insurance pools explore using social media to deliver their messages, so too are their local government members. The unique nature of social media – fast, personal, and far-reaching – makes it a valuable tool for many local government purposes but can also open the entities to additional risks.

Social media might intensify some existing risks because it provides an immediate and ready communication tool. As use of social media by local government develops further, we’ll together learn more about where its impact is most valuable and how to manage associated risks.

In the meantime, it’s useful for local governments to maintain a basic awareness about the kinds of risks that can come from using social media, and methods to minimize concerns. One important role for a league-sponsored insurance pool is to provide early education to members about social media risks and recommended controls.

As your pool explores these issues with local government members, develops policy recommendations and training guidelines, or identifies questions you think would be useful for others in pooling to consider, please let NLC-RISC staff know. We’ll continue to monitor the issue and provide updates or advice as warranted.

Comments can be directed to Ann Gergen at 202-626-3162 or .

Definition: The term “social media” is still being defined and will continue to evolve along with new technology. Generally speaking, social media are Internet tools for sharing information in short form with an audience that has elected to connect in issues of common interest. Social media might encompass text, photos, video, comments, and links. Common social media sites include Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, TwitPic, and Flickr. Social media are also generally defined to include blogs, RSS feeds, and wikis (shared encyclopedias).

Risk Potential in
Local Government Use of Social Media / Recommendations and
Local Government Controls to Consider /
1. An employee posts something inappropriate or potentially offensive on the local government’s official social media outlet.
Imagine an employee posting the following update on a controversial issue: “A bunch of goofballs tried to hijack the council meeting last night.” Or, in a photo recap of the local government’s annual festival, there’s a picture of the local D.A.R.E. officer and the mayor drinking beer. / ·  Limit local government employees authorized to post material using official social media outlets.
·  Have review and control policies in place for non-urgent posts that assure review of content and language.
·  Have a written policy that outlines acceptable and unacceptable language, references, and content. Include specifics about possible ramifications for policy violations.
·  Designate a point of contact for complaints about content to be heard.
·  Consider in advance how to handle situations where the local government receives complaints about content posted using social media, who will act as a spokesperson in response, who will make a decision about whether and how to act, and how the local governing board will be informed.
·  Create a forum and method for regular review of prior postings with city staff and management to discuss appropriateness, timeliness, etc.
2. A local government employee uses his or her personal social media venue to post something that could reflect poorly on the government entity.
What if an employee posted sexually suggestive photos of himself or herself? What if a firefighter uses photos of him or herself in uniform, and comments on medical calls to which he or she responded? / ·  Be sure policies exist regarding appropriate behavior by employees that could reflect on the local government, whether it occurs on- or off-duty.
·  Remember: Employees have freedom of speech rights, but local government can require employee behavior be appropriate if it can be linked back and reflect on the local government entity.
·  Remind employees that posts on social media outlets can be traced by anyone, anytime. There is no privacy in social media.
·  Discuss and determine how personal use of social media policies will be enforced. Decide how the local government will respond if it receives a complaint.
·  Be sure to consider applicability of policies to part-time employees, elected and appointed officials, and volunteers.
3. A local government employee makes excessive use of personal social media during work hours.
What if a clerical employee complains that his or her coworker is spending hours each day on a personal social media site? / ·  Make sure the local government has a written policy governing employee use of employer-owned computer and communications equipment, as well as employee use of personal computers or communications equipment during work hours. The policy should clearly address discipline or other ramifications of excessive personal computer use.
·  Also have a written policy about how employee computer use will be monitored, by whom, and for what purpose. Local governments should explicitly outline their intent to monitor employee behavior when using any employer-owned equipment.
·  Be sure to consider applicability of policies to part-time employees, elected and appointed officials, and volunteers.
4. A local government employee uses social media to harass someone.
Not all examples of harassment will be direct and obvious. Consider a department head who reads a citizen-activist bog and responds with defensive arguments in the comments section of the blog. The citizen claims local government employees are harassing him or her for speaking out. / ·  Be sure policies exist regarding harassing behavior by employees. The policies should address definition of harassing behavior, venues in which harassment can occur, and circumstances under which behavior outside the workplace could be considered.
·  Employees have freedom of speech rights, but local government can require individual employee behavior be appropriate if it can be linked back and reflect on the local government entity, or if it directly impacts another employee or someone linked to the harasser through the local government entity.
·  Remind employees that posts on social media outlets can be traced by anyone, anytime. There is no privacy in social media.
·  Discuss and determine how personal use of social media will be monitored. Decide how the local government will respond if it receives a complaint.
·  Be sure to consider applicability of local government policies to part-time employees, elected and appointed officials, and volunteers.
5. The local government monitors employee Internet and social media use without a policy or makes inappropriate use of monitoring tools.
Would it be okay for technology staff to follow use by an employee of his or her personal email account accessed through the local government’s Internet connection? Does it matter if the access to personal email happens after work hours? / ·  Make sure the local government has a computer use policy in place, including details on whether employee use of employer-owned equipment will be monitored.
·  Policy language should specify that employees do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in any communications or documents created using employer-owned equipment or systems.
·  Be sure to consider applicability of policies to part-time employees, elected and appointed officials, and volunteers.
·  Don’t rely solely on Internet logs or similar reports to make disciplinary decisions. Be sure to fully investigate suspected violations.
6. The local government inappropriately uses social media information to make a decision about hiring a candidate for employment.
After a successful telephone interview process, what if a local government supervisor looks on Facebook and discovers the best candidate is disabled, then decides not to hire him or her? / ·  Social media outlets offer a glimpse into the lives of potential local government employees. Local government hiring practices and policies should reflect appropriate consideration of job-related criteria, only.
7. The local government takes or fails to take disciplinary action for inappropriate employee social media use.
What if the local government terminated an employee suspected of posting something inappropriate but later discovered a different employee actually posted the item?
Or, what if the local government discovered one employee harassing another using personal social media, and did nothing? / ·  It’s perfectly fine to establish reasonable standards for employee use of social media taking place both on- and off-duty. Those standards should be written and communicated, and any related disciplinary actions should be consistent. Discipline should always be documented.
·  When it comes to employee discipline, there are a variety of issues that should be further discussed with human resources professionals. Be sure local government agencies are fully considering employment liability implications before disciplining an employee, or when deciding whether to ignore certain behaviors.
8.  The local government posts incorrect information using social media, causing someone to act in a way they otherwise wouldn’t.
For instance, what if the local government were to accidentally post incorrect information about where an emergency shelter is located, causing residents to be misdirected during a storm or emergency event? / ·  Limit local government employees authorized to post material using official social media outlets.
·  Have review and control procedures in place that recognize the need for expediency in social media posts, but also how easy it is to unintentionally make a critical mistake.
·  Consider in advance and have a protocol in place for how to release corrected information.
·  Use redundant information sources at the local level (social media, websites, radio announcements).
·  Use the social media outlet to regularly remind recipients that they should not rely on just one information source for critical information.
9.  The local government fails to make use of social media in order to share information in a situation where others have come to rely on the format for information.
Imagine a local government agency routinely posts road closures due to construction or street maintenance using Twitter. It fails to do so for a situation where electrical lines have fallen into the road and someone is injured as a result. / ·  Limit local government employees authorized to post material using official social media outlets.
·  Consider how critical local government information generated in the evening, overnight, or on weekends will be communicated.
·  Create written expectations for employees posting materials using the local government’s social media, including required postings and expected timelines, as well as ramifications for not posting as expected.
·  Use the social media outlet to regularly remind recipients that they should not rely on just one information source for critical information.
·  Use redundant information sources at the local level (social media, websites, radio announcements).
10.  There is no control mechanism for comments made on the local government’s social media site.
What if someone following the local government on Facebook comments using harassing, defamatory, offensive, or otherwise inappropriate language or pictures? / ·  Define and visibly publish a comment policy the local government will use for social media outlets. Consider a disclaimer of liability for comments posted by visitors to the local government social media site.
·  Identify who is responsible for monitoring comments, how comments will be monitored, and standards for removing inappropriate comments.
·  Designate a point of contact for complaints about content to be heard.
·  Consider in advance how to handle situations where the local government receives complaints about comments, who will act as a spokesperson in response, who will make a decision about whether and how to act, and how the local governing board will be informed.
11.  Local government officials use social media to communicate with each other and share ideas related to city business and operations.
While social media is a step toward additional government transparency, it can be an unintentional conduit for local government officials to engage in conversation outside the pubic meeting forum. / ·  There should be policy about when and how public officials can use social media in order to communicate with each other about local government business and issues.
·  Remind elected officials that the perception of open government is critical.
·  In some cases, it might make sense to pursue state-specific legislation that would ease the way for local government use of social media.
12.  The local government doesn’t adequately address retention policies for its use of social media.
Retention policies will vary by state. The key is to be sure local governments have considered the link between social media and retention policies, and has planned accordingly. / ·  Include social media content in local government retention policies, guidelines, and employee training.
·  Focus on information content, not format, when determining retention policies (unless retention policies are specific to format).
·  In some cases, it might make sense to pursue state-specific legislation that would ease the way for local government use of social media.
13.  The local government has entered into social media use agreements or licensing contracts.
Use and license agreements for social media are standardized and often include language regarding release and indemnification that may not be appropriate for local government agencies. / ·  It’s important that local government managers, public information officers, technology and communications staff, and legal advisors all consider the implications of social media agreements.
·  In some cases, it might make sense to pursue state-specific legislation that would ease the way for local government use of social media.
14.  There are unique regulations that impact local government use of social media.
In some cases, local government may be held to standards for how it makes online information easily accessible – such as standards to assure access by those with a disability, limited resources, etc. / ·  Making sure that local government gathers input from many sources and thinks carefully about social media resources is key. Be sure to include managers, public information officers, technology and communications staff, HR professionals, and legal advisors in conversations about social media.
·  In some cases, it might make sense to pursue state-specific legislation that would ease the way for local government use of social media.