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PolicyToolkit.md

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Differentiation of personal vs official

Personal use

Identification as government employee

Disclaimer of representing official views

Limited Personal Use on Government Equipment / Facilities

Labor Relations

Personal use not covered further in this policy

Official use

Definition of official use of social media

Identification as government employee

Hatch Act

On official sites, no personal opinions

Strategy

Organizational goals

How to take advantage of SM platforms to meet organizational goals

All policy herein focuses on *official### uses of social media

Content

Focus on organizational mission

Linking and endorsement disclaimer policy

No copyright/trademark (USG public domain)

Fair Use and copyright

Direct visitors to .gov site

Providing a link to an official .gov, .mil, or .us website provides readers with a way to get detailed information if needed. In addition, by using a URL shortener such as (go.usa.gov), links can double as verification that they're about to visit a safe and official website containing authoritative information.

Interaction with the public

Terms of Use (limited forum, 1st Amendment, Privacy Act)

Definition as limited public forum with proscribed purpose

Rules for content deletion and user banning

Differentiation of official USG and non-USG produced content

No political/sexual/hate/vulgar/abusive comments or attacks

Privacy Act compliance

System of Record Notice / Privacy Impact Assessment

Acceptable uses for user-provided information

Surveys, polls, and questionnaires

Contests, challenges, and prizes

Marketing

Audience research

Paid distribution and advertising

Evaluation

Performance metrics

* Audience size (reach)
* Activity (output)
* Engagement (outcome)

Strategic indicators

Managing SM accounts

Roles and Responsibilities

Refer to a SM Handbook

Framework position descriptions

* Public Affairs specialist
* Social media community manager
* Web design and production
* Multimedia producer
* Software developer

Management and oversight

Clearance procedures

Approval needed to post to sites

No classified, PII, or other protected information

No posting of non-public information (unless cleared to do so)

Ethics/ethical conduct

Be courteous/honest/respectful; use responsibly

Conflict of Interest

No requests to contact Congress/officials or lobbying

Crisis communications

Central account backstopping

Emergency Action Plan

Example: In the event of an emergency, social media tools should be utilized in accordance with the Emergency Public Affairs Plan, which calls for a coordinated messaging effort between the Headquarters Office of Public Affairs and any programs, sites or facilities that may be involved: "When Department of Energy headquarters or a DOE site/facility declares an emergency, it is expected to meet the public information obligations of the Department of Energy orders, guidance and requirements and the comprehensive emergency management plans developed by each site.”

This guidance and requirement includes the timely provision of media informational materials to the Public Affairs staff at Department headquarters. Every effort should be made by the designated public affairs officers at the site level to consult with the Headquarters Public Affairs Office on the initial dissemination of information to the public and media.

From the DOE O 151.1C "Comprehensive Emergency Management System":

"Initial news releases or public statements must be approved by the Cognizant Field Element official responsible for emergency public information review and dissemination. Following initial news releases and public statements, updates must be coordinated with the DOE/NNSA (as appropriate) Director of Public Affairs and the Headquarters Emergency Manager."

For more information on emergency communication protocols, reference the Emergency Public Affairs Plan or contact your public affairs representative.

(From the Department of Energy)

Accessibility

Open and Transparent Government

Account for Limited English/no Internet

Section 508 and Captioning

Records Management and Freedom of Information Act

Lifecycle

Terms of Service (Government-compatible)

Security

Only use official email

Official government social media accounts should use a government-owned email address for sign up. The government email indicates that the account is being used in conjunction with an official Agency effort. If possible, account should use an email which leads to a shared/group inbox. If using an employee email address there's the possibility that the account will no longer be able to be managed if the employees leaves their Agency.

Using a personal email address is discouraged since accountability of the account, along with correspondence sent to that personal email address, can present legal, ethical, and records challenges for the Agency.

Identification with agency

Providing a link to an official .gov, .mil, or .us website provides readers with a way to get detailed information if needed. In addition, by using a URL shortener such as (go.usa.gov), links can double as verification that they're about to visit a safe and official website containing authoritative information.

Decommissioning accounts