for any party, I have no political aspirations,
I am a strong proponent for free speech and
social activism, so I am not attempting to
muzzle anyone or prevent political discourse
or criticism. The objective of this piece is to
provide some professional advice for specific
members of the general public based on my
professional experience, and that is all. You are
free to agree, disagree, ignore, comment, share
and criticize.
The information below doesn’t cover everything
but is more of a general guideline for voicing
political opinion on social media if you occupy
certain professional, public or civic positions.
Public Servants
I know this is a sensitive one and I am sure the
rebuttal will be swift, but again this is a best
practice suggestion, not a law, as we don’t have
legislation locally such as the USA’s Hatch Act
that specifically governs such behavior.
In general, public servants (this includes
employees of statutory organizations) should
be guided by the following:
• Don’t engage in political social media
activity while on duty or in the workplace,
even if the employee is using their personal
smartphone, tablet or laptop to do so.
Public servants are “on duty” when they’re
in a pay status other than paid leave or are
representing the government in an official
capacity.
• Don’t engage in political social media
activity in an official capacity at any time.
• Don’t solicit or receive political contributions
at any time.
• Political activity refers to any activity
directed at the success or failure of a
political party or partisan political group
or candidate. In this case, more specifically
referring to social media activity.
National Essential Services (Police, Fire,
Defense, Port Authority, Immigration,
Customs)
Any individual employed by the above on active
duty may generally express their personal views
about public issues or political candidates using
social media — just like they can write a letter
to a newspaper’s editor. If the social media site
or content identifies the individual as on active
duty (or if they’re reasonably identifiable as
an active duty or currently employed), then
the content needs to clearly and prominently
state that the views expressed are those of
the individual only and not those of their
respective employer. However, active duty
employees may not engage in any partisan
political activity such as posting or making
www.slyoumag.com | February - April 2020
direct links to a political party, partisan political
candidate, campaign, group or cause. That’s the
equivalent of distributing literature on behalf of
those entities or individuals, which should be
prohibited when in an official capacity.
Active duty members of the above can like or
follow accounts of a political party or partisan
candidate, campaign, group or cause. However,
they should not suggest that others like, friend
or follow them or forward an invitation or
solicitation.
Remember, active duty essential service
members are subject to additional restrictions
based on their respective codes of conduct
or ethics guidelines (which should have
specific regulation on political activism).
These guidelines should also spell out the use
of government resources and government
communications systems, including mobile
phones, email and internet.
What about if you are not on active duty or
retired?
Then reasonably you should not be subject to
the above social media restrictions so long as
you don’t reasonably create the perception or
appearance of official sponsorship, approval
or endorsement by the department you were
employed by.
Senior Members/Spokespersons of Large
Organizations
Similarly to public servants, if you are a senior
manager, board member, spokesperson or a
highly visible member of a major organization,
you should be guided by the following:
• Don’t use company resources for personal
political social media activism.
• Avoid making statements on social media
when in an official capacity.
If you feel compelled to support or criticize
a political party or candidate, please use a
disclaimer stating that the views expressed are
yours and not that of your employer.
• Ensure that you are within your company
code of conduct before engaging in social
media political activity.
• My personal favorite: If in doubt…opt out.
Again, it does not cover everything, but the
goal here is stimulate discourse and possibly
help people better manage their political
activity on social media. If you have a specific
question or comment, feel free to leave one!
Leslie Collymore
Principal Consultant/Founder
Advanced Intellectual Methods, Inc.
Tel: (758) 285-2839
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.aimstlucia.com
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