HTML Preview Social Media Policy page number 1.
EPA Classification No.: CIO 2184.0 CIO Approval Date: 06/20/2011
CIO Transmittal No.: 11-0006 Review Date: 6/2014
Issued by the EPA Chief Information Officer,
Pursuant to Delegation 1-19, dated 07/07/2005
SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
1. PURPOSE
This
policy establishes the principles for the use of social media at EPA. For purposes of this polic
y,
“so
cial media” is a term for a wide-spectrum of user-driven content technologies
.
2.
SCOPE AND APPLICABIL
ITY
This poli
cy applies to EPA employees, contractors, and other personnel acting
in an official capacity
on behalf of EPA when using social media for official
EPA purposes on the Intranet and the In
ternet,
whether such us
e occurs on the EPA Website or third-party sites
.
This
policy does not apply to EPA employees using social media tools for personal use while us
ing
government-owned office
equipment; such use is covered by EPA Orde
r 2100.3 A1, “Limited
Personal
Use of Government Office Equipment Policy.
”
This
policy does not apply to EPA employees using social media in their personal capacities
;
however, em
ployees are always required to follow the Standards of Ethical Conduct and the
Hatch
Act.
This poli
cy does not supersede or replace existing legal responsibilities and policie
s in effect.
3.
AUDIENCE
The audi
ence for this policy includes any EPA employee, contractor, or other person who us
es social
media on behalf of EPA.
4
.
B
ACKGROUN
D
Much li
ke the Internet transformed information during the 1990’s, social media is a 21
s
t
century
phenomenon that offers a new and constantly emerging range of opportunities for networking,
collaborating, and information-sharing. EPA is using social media tools to create a more effective and
transparent governm
ent, to engage the public and EPA’
s partners, and to facilitate internal
colla
boration. Social media provides another set of tools to help EPA acco
mplish its mission.
The benefits of using
social media in support of EPA’s mission incl
ude increased ability for the
Agency to en
gage and collaborate with partners, notably the American public. With the ben
efits and
opportunities of soci
al media come risks for security and privacy. It
is important that EPA weigh both
the benefits a
nd the risks before using social media tools. In addition, there are legal issues
and
federal
requirements that are unique to the government, such as privacy, Section 508 compli
ance
(accessibility), records management, procurement rules, and staff participation on external sites that
directly impact EPA employees’ use of social media tools. EPA will use these tools only in support of
Page 1 of 6