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Government Mulls Social Media Conduct Code For Officials
The government is thinking about making new rules for its workers’ social media use.
These rules could apply to every officer and employee, no matter their rank.
Officials have increasingly been posting videos, reels and personal opinions online.
Some posts have praised their jobs or official positions.
The government says this is not expected from government servants.
It also wants to stop officials from posting about unsuitable subjects.
No final rules or release date have been announced yet.
Separately, social media companies now have shorter deadlines to remove certain unlawful or sensitive content.
These changes also address problems such as deepfakes and artificial-intelligence-generated content.
The government is considering a social media code for all officers and employees, regardless of rank.
The proposed code would address officials posting reels, videos and personal opinions on social media.
Officials may be barred from posting content on undesirable subjects or glorifying their work and positions.
The timing and detailed guidelines for issuing the code remain unknown.
The government recently reduced some social media takedown deadlines, including two hours for sensitive matters.
- Who
- The government and its officers and employees.
- What
- The government is considering a social media code of conduct for officials.
- Where
- New Delhi and social media platforms including X, Facebook and Instagram.
- When
- The proposal was reported on September 3; no issuance date has been announced.
- Why
- To address officials’ posting of undesirable content, personal opinions and material glorifying their work or positions.
Key facts
- Scope
- The proposed code would apply to all officers and employees, irrespective of rank.
- Platforms mentioned
- X, Facebook and Instagram.
- Current rules
- Sources said no social media code of conduct currently exists for officials.
- Status
- The proposal has been discussed at the highest levels, but the guidelines and release date are unknown.
- Sensitive-content deadline
- The government recently reduced the takedown time for sensitive matters from 24 hours to two hours.
- IT Rules changes
- Amendments made on February 10 this year address harms from synthetically generated information, including deepfakes and AI-generated content.
- Other deadlines cited
- The official statement said the unlawful-information removal timeline was reduced from 36 hours to three hours, while some grievance-redressal timelines were also shortened.
Quotes
Official statement issued on August 6
Government statement describing revised online-content removal and grievance-redressal timelines
“Strengthening of timelines for compliance, including reduced timelines for removal of unlawful information upon actual knowledge upon valid reasoned intimation from the appropriate government or court orders (timeline reduced from 36 hours to 3 hours) and for grievance redressal (including special categories such as nudity/impersonation etc) (timeline reduced from 72 hours to 36 hours and 24 hours to 2 hours for sensitive matters, respectively)”
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Sources
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