GUWAHATI: A social media policy is soon going to become a reality for Assam Government employees. The idea is to restrain government employees from commenting or advocating on political issues in social media.
In December 2017, the state of Jammu and Kashmir issued guidelines for its employees that prohibited them from talking against the policies of the government on social media.
The Assam government policy is partially borrowed from the 2012 framework and guidelines prepared by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India.
The document states that, while employees are free to post response in their personal capacity, it is mandatory that while they are doing so, they must clearly identify themselves, confidential information must not be divulged and should not be seen to represent “official view” unless authorised to do so.
Government employees should be using the social media mainly for official purpose only and should follow some guiding principles for interaction. The policy mentions that an employee should not initiate a conversation, comment or respond to a reaction unless authorised. This must be firmly adhered to, especially in matters that are sub-judice, draft legislations or relating to other individuals.
