Social Media Policies for Judicial Employees

8/4/2019 Social Media Policies for Judicial Employees

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Committee on Codes o Conduct

Judicial Conerence o the United States

Resource Packet orDeveloping Guidelines on

Use o Social Media byJudicial Employees


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Judicial Conference Committee

on Codes of Conduct

April 2010

Resource Packet for

Developing Guidelines onUse of Social Media by

Judicial Employees


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Part 1: Introduction to Ethics Implications of the Use of

Social Media by Judicial Employees

Part 2: Social Media Primer

Part 3: Considerations for Development of Judicial

Employee Social Media Policies

Part 4: Sample Provisions for Judicial Employee Social

Media Policies

Part 5: Examples of Existing Policies

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Contents


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5Social Media Resource Packet

The latest chapter in the evolution o online activitieshas involved an explosion in social mediaalso known

as social computing and sometimes reerred to associal networking. These diverse online media permitexpression and interaction by multiple individual users,and participation in social computing is now a daily act olie or more than 400 million people. Until recently, mostInternet users were mere consumers o content; nowmany are creating their own content and interacting withother users.

For the courts, social media may provide valuable tools.For example, social media have been eectively used orrecruiting, learning and employee development, postingbenets inormation and other announcements, and orinormation collection, sharing and dissemination. OtherJudicial Conerence committees are exploring the positiveuse o social media, e.g., the Judicial Branch CommitteesAd Hoc Subcommittee on New Media.

Use o social media also raises ethical, security, and privacyconcerns or courts and court employees. The ability tocommunicate immediately with exponential numbers opeoplebut with limited ability to eectively control orretrieve that communicationhas increased traditionalconcerns regarding employee communications. Unlikeother orms o communication, participation in socialmedia oers everyone the opportunity to publish theirthoughts; however, not everyone may be judicious aboutwhat they publish. User entries on blogs, wikis or anyother orm o user-generated media can never truly be

Part 1:

INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS

IMPLICATIONS OF THE USE OF

SOCIAL MEDIA BY JUDICIAL EMPLOYEES


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Social Media Resource Packet6

erased or deleted. The ability to preserve and replicate anInternet message or image or many years exacerbates thepotential risks. Due to perceived anonymity, an employeemay engage in conduct online that the employee mightrerain rom in person, without understanding that onlinecommunications may be traced to a particular user.Or the employee may not be ully aware o the ethicalimplications o social media given the relative newness othese online activities.

The Codes o Conduct Committee has designed thisresource packet, in consultation with other Judicial

Conerence committees, to help courts and judgesconsider whether and how to develop policies andguidelines or the use o social media by judicialemployees. We encourage courts and judges toincorporate social media issues into their orientation andtraining or judicial employees.

This introduction briefy highlights the major ethics

implications o the use o social media by judicialemployees, and is accompanied by the ollowingdocuments:

Part 2. Social Media Primer

Part 3. Considerations or Development o JudicialEmployee Social Media Policies

Part 4. Sample Provisions or Judicial Employee SocialMedia Policies; and

Part 5. Examples o Existing Policies.

The Code o Conduct or Judicial Employees applies to

all online activities, including social media. The advento social media does not broaden ethical restrictions;rather, the existing Code extends to the use o socialmedia. The Committee has addressed ethics inquiriesthat suggest that some judicial employees have crossed


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or strayed close to the boundaries imposed by theseCode requirements, such as reerencing pending matters.Although these posts are not widespread, they highlightthe importance o emphasizing ethical constraints. Themain ethical considerations ollow:

Condentiality Avoiding impropriety in all conduct Not lending the prestige o the oce Not detracting rom the dignity o the court or

refecting adversely on the court

Not demonstrating special access to the court oravoritism Not commenting on pending matters Remaining within restrictions on undraising Not engaging in prohibited political activity Avoiding association with certain social issues that

may be litigated or with organizations that requentlylitigate

Developing standards will require careul assessment sothat guidelines achieve the goals o maintaining ethics andsecurity standards without restricting private employeeconduct that does not impinge on the mission o thecourts. For example, courts and judges should considerwhether dierent levels o restrictions are appropriate ordierent types o judicial employees. Concerns regarding

the appearance o avoritism, or instance, may beespecially high or an employee who works directly witha judge. As another example, only certain employees areprohibited rom engaging in both partisan and nonpartisanpolitical activity. Developing guidelines may also requireconsideration o actors specic to the court or the courtslocale.

The Codes o Conduct Committee (Judge McKeown,Chair, 619-557-5300), and the Committees counsel in theAdministrative Oce (Robert Deyling, 202-502-1100), areavailable to discuss social media issues and to review dratguidelines or policies.


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Social media and social computing reer to the wide array oInternet-based tools and platorms that increase and enhancethe sharing o inormation. The common goal o this mediais to maximize user accessibility and sel-publication througha variety o dierent ormats. This primer briefy describessome major orms o social media.

Social and Proessional Networking

Social networking reers to building online communitieso people who share interests or activities, or who areinterested in exploring the interests and activities oothers. These web-based applications allow users to

create and edit personal or proessional proles thatcontain inormation and content that can be viewed byothers in electronic networks that the users can create or

join. There is a distinction between social networks thatoer personal connections and proessional networks thatmarket a business or accomplish other business-relatedgoals.

Examples:

FacebookFacebook is a social networking website that wasoriginally designed or college students, but is nowopen to anyone 13 years o age or older. Facebookprovides an easy way or people, particularly riends, tokeep in touch, and or individuals to have a presenceon the web without needing to build a website. SinceFacebook makes it easy to upload pictures and videos,nearly anyone can create and publish a customizedprole with photos, videos and inormation aboutthemselves. Friends can browse the proles o other

Part 2:

SOCIAL MEDIA PRIMER


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riends or any proles with unrestricted access and writemessages on a page known as a wall that constitutesa publicly visible threaded discussion. Facebook allowseach user to set privacy settings.

LinkedInLinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking siteused mainly or proessional networking. LinkedInenables people to build, maintain and track proessionalcontacts. It also oers a means o sel-promotion,providing users with space to publish their workexperience, education, specialties or interests. The site

has a gated-access approach (where contact with anyproessional requires either a preexisting relationship orthe intervention o a contact o theirs) intended to buildtrust among the services users. One eature allows usersto ask questions or the community to answer. Anothersearchable eature allows users to establish newbusiness relationships by joining alumni, industry, orproessional and other relevant groups. LinkedIn groups

can be created in any subject and by any member oLinkedIn. Some groups are specialized groups dealingwith a narrow domain or industry, whereas others arevery broad and generic in nature. LinkedIn is reportedto have more than 50 million registered users rom over200 countries around the world, including executivesrom every Fortune 500 company.

Blogs

A blog, a contraction o the term weblog, is a type owebsite maintained with regular entries o commentary,descriptions o events, or other material such as graphicsor video. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning tomaintain or add content to a blog. Many blogs provide

commentary or news on a particular subject; othersunction as more personal online diaries. A typical blogcombines text, images, and links to other blogs, webpages and other media related to its topic. The abilityor readers to leave comments in an interactive ormat is


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an important part o many blogs. Entries are commonlydisplayed through threaded discussions in reversechronological order.

Micro-blogging (e.g., Twitter)

Twitter is a micro-blogging application that is more orless a combination o instant messaging and blogging.Twitter has quickly established itsel as a popular toolor communicating news, market trends, questionsand answers and links with numerous benets or both

business and personal use. Twitter enables its users tosend and read messages known as tweets. Tweets aretext-based posts o up to 140 characters displayed onthe authors prole page and delivered to the authorssubscribers, who are known as ollowers. Senders canrestrict delivery to those in their circle o riends or, bydeault, allow open access.

Wiki

A wiki (Hawaiian or ast) reers to a website that allowsthe site users themselves, as opposed to a centralizedsite manager, to control the content by adding orcorrecting the text o the site. Most wikis serve a specicpurpose, and o-topic material is promptly removed by

the user community. Such is the case o the collaborativeencyclopedia Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page.

Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking sites allow users to save and share

website bookmarks online instead o saving to a webbrowsers avorites list. Ater joining the site, a user is ableto save a bookmark, tag it with a comment, and categorizeit. These saved bookmarks can be searched and viewed


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by any user; registered users can in turn save, tag andcategorize the bookmarks themselves. Any user canalso search according to a registered users screen nameand see all the registered users bookmarks. To acilitatebrowsing, the sites usually include categories o mostviewed, recently added, etc. Delicious and Digg areexamples o popular bookmarking sites.

Video Sharing

Video sharing sites allow registered users to upload video

clips that can be searched, viewed and shared by otherusers. Registered users are identied by screen names,and other users can search by that screen name to see allo a users videos. Users do not need to be registered toview and search videos. YouTube is an example o a videosharing site. Facebook and other social networking sitesenable direct sharing o videos posted on video sharingsites.

Threaded Discussion, Discussion Group and/orChat Room

A threaded discussion is a running exchange omessages between two or more people in an onlinediscussion group about a particular topic. Using a web or

usenet service on the Internet, users can post messagesthat appear in chronological order or in question-answerorder. The exchanges are then typically saved andsearchable or later viewing.


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Following is a checklist o issues to consider in the processo developing a court or chambers policy governing theuse o social media by judicial employees. The list is notintended to be comprehensive or prescriptive, but toprovide a starting point or developing a policy. Althoughthese considerations are helpul prompts in thinking aboutscope and restrictions, the list is not meant to suggestthat a policy necessarily should address each o theseindividual items.

Defnition o Social Media, or Social Computing:

The range o potential types o social media, or socialcomputing, is virtually without limit. The denition needsto accommodate new orms o online media and tohave appropriate coverage o existing media. A courtmay want to consider whether to exclude activities thatare unctionally equivalent to other orms o private

communication, such as email.

Scope o Restrictions on the Use o Social Media:

Work-related only or including personal activity Timing: Whether the policy, or aspects o it, needs

to cover a period beore or ollowing the judicial

employees employment by the court Anonymous activities Proessional network listingssuch as LinkedIn,

educational institutions, bar associations

Part 3:

CONSIDERATIONS FOR

DEVELOPMENT OF JUDICIALEMPLOYEE SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES


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Because the range o social media is so broad, anyrestrictions should take into account whether allonline activity should be treated similarly or whether

certain activities merit separate treatment. Types oonline activity to consider include the ollowing:

Blogging Maintaining a website Posting o comments or other text on any website Posting o any graphic or multimedia material on

any website

Posting o links to other websites or to materialson any website

Micro-blogging, e.g, through Twitter Taking online surveys Posting or transmitting any inormation on a third-

party hosted website (e.g., Facebook, YouTube,a chat room, a blog, or a wiki). Examples include:

posting status updates, posting comments toother users prole pages, posting videos, takingsurveys or playing games or which the resultsare posted, posting links, sending invitations toevents, and sending individual messages to ariend or group o riends

Developing or collaborating on wikis Posting instant messenger status updates Podcasting or webcasting o any orm Engaging in any other online activities that

involve postings that can either be viewed byothers, or involve input that triggers a post thatcan be viewed by others

Ethics Concerns:

Does the policy address the primary ethics concernsimplicated under the Code o Conduct or JudicialEmployees? The ve Canons o the Employee Code state:


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1. A judicial employee should uphold the integrity andindependence o the judiciary and o the judicialemployees oce.

2. A judicial employee should avoid impropriety andthe appearance o impropriety in all activities.3. A judicial employee should adhere to appropriate

standards in perorming the duties o oce.4. In engaging in outside activities, a judicial employee

should avoid the risk o confict with ocial duties,should avoid the appearance o impropriety, andshould comply with the disclosure requirements.

5. A judicial employee should rerain rom inappropriatepolitical activity.

Following is a list o the key ethics concerns related toemployee use o social media. Also included are someconcrete illustrative examples. These examples areneither comprehensive nor meant to recommend specicrestrictions; they are listed simply to prompt consideration

o the connection between particular social mediaactivities and specic ethics concerns.

Condentiality (Canon 3)E.g., posting a status update on a social networkingsite that broadly hints at the likely outcome in apending case; making a comment on a blog that revealscondential case processing procedures; sending a

Tweet that reveals non-public inormation about thestatus o jury deliberations

Avoiding impropriety in all conduct (Canons 2 and 4)E.g., exchanging requent wall posts with a socialnetworking riend who is also counsel in a casepending beore the court

Not lending prestige o oce (Canon 2)E.g., aliating onesel on a social networking site as aan o an organization that requently litigates in court


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Not detracting rom the dignity o the court or refectingadversely on the court (Canon 4)

E.g., posting inappropriate photos or videos on socialnetworking sites

Not demonstrating special access or avoritism (Canons 1and 2)

E.g., commenting avorably or unavorably on a legalblog about the competence o a particular law rm

Not commenting on pending matters (Canon 3)E.g., posting a comment on a legal blog that pertains to

issues in a pending case, even i the case is not directlymentioned

Fundraising only within limitations (Canon 4)E.g., circulating a pledge appeal or a charity walk toall o your social network site riends, which includesindividuals who practice beore your court

Not engaging in partisan political activity (or any politicalactivity, or certain judicial employees) (Canon 5)

E.g., circulating an online invitation or a partisanpolitical event, even i the employee does not planto attend him/hersel; posting pictures on a socialnetworking prole that aliate the employee with apolitical party or a partisan political candidate

For certain judicial employees, avoiding activities thatinvolve controversial issues that may appear beore thecourt or that involve organizations that requently litigate(Canon 4)

E.g., circulating an online petition regarding a highlycontentious state ballot measure


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Application o Policy to Dierent Categories o JudicialEmployees:

The categories o judicial employees in the court, andwhether their online activities (or some o those activities)should be treated dierently, or example:

Personal sta and law clerks to judges Sta attorneys Court executive employees, such as the Clerk o

Court or the Chie Pretrial Services Ocer

Court employees who are not executive employeesand do not work directly or judges, or exampleemployees in the clerks oce

Probation ocers and other sta in the probationoce

Identifcation with the Court:

Whether the employee may identiy him or hersel asemployed by a specifc court, and, i not, whether theemployee may still include a job title (e.g., ederal lawclerk or ederal probation ofcer) or any identifcationwith the ederal court system; whether identifcation shouldbe more generic, such as attorney or court clerk

Disclosure o Certain Activities:

Whether the policy should require disclosure o certainongoing social media activities or which the employeeis the primary participant, or example, maintaining awebsite or a blog, and, i so, whether any restrictionshould apply to any type o website or blogs, or only thoserelated to certain topics


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Disclosure or Monitoring and Investigation:Whether the policy will require access to the employeessocial media activities that are not public; when thataccess would be required (or example, or purposes oinvestigation ollowing an alert by another employee);how/whether the policy will notiy employees o thispotential required disclosure

Security Concerns:

How the policy relates and conorms to the courts practicesregarding personal security; or example, does it consider:

Posting o photos that compromise court security orsecurity o individual judicial ocers or employees

Posting inormation through social networking thatreveals condential inormation about a judge or thecourt, such as a judges location at a certain time

Use o Court Facilities and Equipment:

How the policy relates to the Judicial Conerence modelpolicy on Personal Use o Government Oce Equipment(available at http://jnet.ao.dcn/Inormation_Technology/Personal_Use_Policy.html) and the courts policy regardingproper use o court computer equipment and services

Whether the policy will distinguish between activities thatthe employee perorms using court computers or servicesand activities the employee perorms not using courtcomputers or services

Whether use o court computer equipment and servicesto participate in the activity reveals an identication or

association with the court, or example, through a courtemail address


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Potential Exceptions or Flexibility:

Whether the policy will allow or social networking throughcertain approved websites, or example, proessionaleducation websites; proessional association websites; orcareer building websites (e.g., LinkedIn)

Whether the court itsel is considering using (or alreadyuses) an online ormat, such as a Facebook group, tocommunicate with employees

Whether the court would allow employees to create

a closed online group only available to current courtemployeesWhether certain activities may be permissible whenperormed not using court computers or services, but notpermissible when using court computers or servicesWhether certain activities may be permissible i the

scope o the potential audience is limited to the judicialemployees amily or close riends and privacy settings areemployed

Orientation/Training:

Consider including the issue o social media in employee

orientation and periodic trainingEducate trainers about the policy so that in any trainingthat touches on computer usage the explanation o thecourts restrictions on social media is consistent


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With the advent o social networking, many courts haveocused on the online social media activities o judicialemployees, and have requested guidance on options tobalance court considerations with employees personal

activities. These sample provisions are not intended asrecommended policies or procedures, but simply oeroptions that courts might use in crating their own policiesor guidelines. They are adaptable or use in individualchambers or or courts generally.

The ollowing listing, which is not meant to be exclusiveor exhaustive, serves as a menu o sample provisions,arranged according to specic concerns raised by socialmedia. The listing does not include sample provisionsrelated to other issues that may warrant inclusion in asocial media policy, or example regarding court securityor any potential or disciplinary action resulting romsocial media activity. The prior part, Considerations orDevelopment o Judicial Employee Social ComputingGuidelines, provides a ramework or considering adoptiono a policy or guidelines. In addition, the examples in thenext part o existing social media policies provide useulprinciples to consider.

Scope

Long version:For purposes o these guidelines,social media includes any activity on the Internetthat involves posting by the individual employeeuser, either directly or as the result o individualinput that results in a post, or example, blogging;hosting or updating any other orm o website;

Part 4:

SAMPLE PROVISIONS FOR JUDICIAL

EMPLOYEE SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES


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posting comments to any website; posting photos,other graphics, or multimedia materials; postingdocuments or links; saving website bookmarks

to a public site; lling out surveys; posting statusupdates, comments, or links; posting materials orlinks, or sharing or participating in any other wayon a social networking site like Facebook; micro-blogging, or example through Twitter; contributingto a wiki; and so on.

Short version: Social media reers to the wide array

o Internet-based tools and platorms that increaseand enhance the sharing o inormation.

These guidelines do not target messages sentthrough email or a social networking site directed toindividuals or to small groups o personal riends oramily members that are not available or viewing byanyone beyond the small number o addressee(s).In all online activities, however, the employee mustabide by the restrictions on conduct imposed bythe Code o Conduct or Judicial Employees, orexample, the obligation o condentiality.

The restrictions on identication with the court andwork-related postings do not apply to participation

in court-related or proessional education sitesapproved in advance or sponsored by theemployees court.

Compliance with Code o Conduct or JudicialEmployees and Confdentiality Obligations (Canon 3)

In all online activities, the employee must abideby the Code o Conduct or Judicial Employees,including the obligation not to reveal anycondential, sensitive or non-public inormation


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obtained through the course o employment by thecourt. Use o social media is permitted within therestrictions imposed by the social media policy and

by the Code.

Common sense and the integrity o the judiciaryCanons 1 and 2

Judicial employees are expected to avoid improprietyand conduct themselves in a manner that does not

detract rom the dignity and independence o thejudiciary. These principles extend to social mediaactivities. Common sense counsels discretion in thenature and subject matter o Internet postings.

Identifcation with the Court (through sel-description,use o a court email address, or any other manner); these

options highlight that the employees identicationrefects on the court and may lend the courts prestigeCanons 2 and 4

Least restrictiveID with federal courts: The judicialemployee may identiy her/himsel as an employee othe ederal courts generally, but may not speciy whichcourt or judge, e.g., ederal court law clerk, ederal

court clerks ofce, or ederal court librarian.

Generic job title ID: The judicial employee mayidentiy her/himsel by a court-related job title, e.g.,law clerk, records clerk, or case processingmanager, but may not identiy the ederal court or aspecic court or judge as the employer.

Most restrictiveNo ID with courts: The judicialemployee may not identiy her/himsel in any way asemployed by or associated with any court.


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Work-related PostsCanons 2 and 3

Work-related OK: The judicial employee may

participate in social media related to the law andemployment by the court within the restrictionsimposed by the Code o Conduct or JudicialEmployees, including the obligation to maintaincondentiality.

Work-related restricted: The judicial employeemay not participate in any social media directly

or indirectly related to the law or the individualsemployment by the court, except as approved by theemployees supervisor or the court.

Posts Implicating Potential Future CasesCanons 1 and 4

For judicial employees who are judges personal

sta and court executives: The judicial employeeshould not participate in any social media thatrelates to a matter likely to result in litigation or toany organization that requently litigates in court.

Political PostsCanon 5

For judicial employees who are not members othe judges personal sta or court executives(these employees are permitted to participatein nonpartisan political activities): The judicialemployee may not participate in any social mediathat relates to partisan politics, including politicalissues, events and politicians.

For judicial employees who are judges personalsta and court executives (these employees maynot participate in any political activities): The judicial


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employee may not participate in any social mediathat relates to any political issue, political activity orpolitician, whether partisan or non-partisan.


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United States District Court or the District o RhodeIsland Social Media Policy/Guidelines1

The birth and advance o Web 2.0 technologiesand applications in recent years has the potentialto revolutionize how individuals, corporations,

government agencies, and non-prot organizationsinteract and communicate with one another. Web 2.0reers to the second generation o web design andsotware development, which places heavy emphasison communication, collaboration, and sharing amongInternet users. Unlike the rst generation o Internet (Web1.0), this change is not grounded in major technicaltransormations; instead, this change is centered, chiefy,

on the ways individuals use the Internet. Beore Web 2.0,most Internet users were mainly consumers o inormation;now, these new technologies and applications allow usersto be both producers and consumers o inormation andshit easily between those roles.

For many individuals, Web 2.0 applications (oten calledsocial media) are central to their daily computerusage. Users connect and communicate through socialnetworking Internet sites; collaborate on, rene, anddisseminate knowledge through wikis; share theirperspective through blogs and microblogs; upload stilland video images through videosharing and photosharingsites; broadcast via podcasts and vodcasts; and stayconnected via RSS eeds beamed to email inboxes ordisplayed on smartphones.

1 Law Clerks and Interns of this Court are also bound by the First Circuit

Judicial Council Interim Policy-- Use of Social Networking Sites by Law Clerks . Tey

should consult the First Circuits policy in addition to this policy.

Part 5:

EXAMPLES OF EXISTING POLICIES


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As Web 2.0 has made communication instantaneous andallowed or greater collaboration and inormation sharing,there has been some downside. Many users adopting Web2.0 seem less concerned, or at least mindul, o privacyand condentiality as they navigate social media sites suchas Facebook. Recent news stories illustrate the privacy andcondentiality concerns generated by the expansion osocial media Internet usage: employment opportunitieslost because o Facebook proles; scandal precipitatedby YouTube or Flickr postings, and judicial proceedingscompromised by jurors Twitter postings.

The challenges and risks o such social media, though,are particularly acute or government employees whowork in positions where discretion and condentialityare imperative. Court employees work in such anenvironment. Court personnel are expected to keepsensitive inormation condential, exercise discretion toavoid embarrassment to the Court, and take precautionsto avoid unnecessary security risks or court personnel,

especially the judges they serve.

The Court has set down a series o broad guidelines oremployees to ollow as they navigate these new, and ever-changing, technologies and applications

1. Think beore you post. Internet postingswhetherthey be text, photos, videos, or audioremain

accessible long ater they are orgotten by the user.Beyond that, remember that nothing is private onthe Internet despite peoples best eorts to keepthings private. Do not post anything on the Internetthat you would not want to read on the ront page othe Providence Journal.

2.Speak or yoursel, not your institution.

Onsocial networking sites, many individuals listtheir occupations and/or places o employment.Considering the sensitive nature o the work thatwe do, Court employees should careully evaluate


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whether the listing o their place o employment on asocial networking website poses a security risk. Also,remember that you are a representative o the Court

and should conduct yoursel in a way that avoidsbringing embarrassment upon yoursel and/or theCourt. In the age o Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter,many oten do not think through the implicationso what they post. Users oten believe that theirpostings are private because o a social networkingwebsites privacy eatures or that their commentsare untraceable because they were made under

a screen name, but this inormation may not beprivate and could cause damage to your reputationand the Courts i it becomes public. As such, Courtemployees should abide by a simple rule: i you arenot speaking to someone directly or over a securelandline, you must assume that anything you say orwrite is available or public consumption.

3. Keep secrets secret. Make sure to abide by all othe courts condentiality and disclosure provisions.Court employees handle condential and sensitiveinormation and the restrictions that employeesnormally observe in the perormance o their day-to-day duties should also apply to their use o socialmedia. Just as court employees are prohibited

rom disclosing sensitive, non-public inormationto the media and general public in person or overthe phone, the same applies to social media.Furthermore, Court employees should rerain romdiscussing any o the Courts internal processes andprocedures, whether they are o a non-condential orcondential nature.

4. Remember the Guide. Any public postings aregoverned by the Judiciarys Guide to Policiesand Procedures. As Judiciary employees, weare expected to avoid impropriety and conduct


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ourselves in a manner that does not detract romthe dignity and independence o the judicialsystem. As such, Judiciary employees are restricted

rom engaging in partisan political activity andundraising activities that could compromise judicialindependence. Please keep these policies andprocedures in mind as you participate on socialmedia sites.

5. Observe security protocol. Court employees mustalso take care to avoid doing things that would

compromise the security o the courthouse andpersonnel. To maintain security, do not post pictureso the courthouse, inside or outside; do not postpictures o court events and do not post pictures othe Courts judicial ocers. Also, be careul whendisclosing your place o employment: social mediasites are notoriously unsecure environments and

knowledge o your place o employment couldplace employees in situations where pressure couldbe applied on them to corrupt the integrity o the

judicial process.


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CLERKS OFFICE EMPLOYEESOCIAL MEDIA AND SOCIAL NETWORKING POLICYApril 1, 2010

1. AUTHORITY

This social media and social networking policy applies toall Clerks Oce employees o the United States DistrictCourt, Central District o Caliornia, including thoseemployees under its supervision or administration, such ascapital habeas sta attorneys, pro se sta attorneys, and

court reporters (collectively reerred to as the employees).This policy should be read in conjunction with the Codeo Conduct or Judicial Employees, the Courts EmployeeManual, the Clerks Oce Employee Internet AccessAgreement, and the Courts Job Behavior and ConductExpectations policy (Chapter 3, 3.07 o the EmployeeManual).

This policy is approved and administered by the Clerk oCourt. The absence o, or lack o, explicit reerence to aspecic site does not limit the extent o the application othis policy. Where no policy or guideline exist, employeesshould use good judgment and take the most prudentaction possible. Employees should consult with theirmanager or supervisor i uncertain.

2. USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media, proessional networking sites, rapid-recommunications, blog sites, and personal web sites are allwidespread, relatively new, communication technologies.The rules or use o this social media with respect toCourt employment, however, are identical to the rules oruse o other communication methods (such as writing or

publishing, telephoning, or even conversation).

Many users o social media identiy their employer oroccupation. An employee clearly identies associationwith the Court by using the employees court emailaddress to engage in social media or proessional social


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networking activity. As stated in Section 6, the use o theemployees court email address to engage in social mediaor proessional social networking activity is prohibited.

Employees must use good judgement and careuldiscretion about the material or inormation posted online.

3. PRINCIPLES

The Courts reputation or impartiality and objectivity iscrucial. The public must be able to trust the integrity o theCourt. The public needs to be condent that the outside

activities o our employees do not undermine the Courtsimpartiality or reputation and that the manner in whichthe Courts business is conducted is not infuenced by anycommercial, political, or personal interests.

Do not identiy yoursel as a Court employee. Byidentiying onesel as an employee o the United StatesDistrict Court, a social networker becomes, to some

extent, a representative o the Court, and everything he/she posts has the potential to refect upon the Court andits image. It is acknowledged that without identiyingonesel as a Court employee, an employee mayintentionally or unintentionally reveal inormation that willallow the inerence o Court employment. I this occurs,the employee assumes the responsibility or representingthe Court in a proessional manner.

4. RESPONSIBILITY

Any material, including photographs, presented onlineon a Court employee website, social media, or emailor blog, that pertains to the Court by any poster is theresponsibility o the Court employee, even i Courtemployment can only be indirectly inerred or deduced.

Personal blogs should not identiy Court employmenteven indirectly; i possible, use your rst name only. Donot reerence or cite other Court employees without theirexpress consent, and even then, do not identiy them asCourt employees.


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5. RELEVANT TECHNOLOGIES

This policy includes (but is not limited to) the ollowingspecic technologies:

Classmates Digg Facebook Flickr LinkedIn LiveJournal

MySpace Personal Blogs Personal Websites TwitterYahoo! GroupsYouTube

6. RULES

Use o the court email address or social networking(or example, blogs, Facebook, Twitter) is notpermitted. Use o an employees court emailaddress is subject to the same appropriate usepolicies pertaining to the use o the telephone,namely, limited personal use not interering

with the perormance o work responsibilities.Email addresses should not be used or chaincorrespondence, solicitation o donations, transmittalo large audio, video or other large les, or anybusiness enterprise.

The Court policy is not to identiy yoursel as acourt employee at all in social media. While you can

control what you post, you cannot predict nor controlwhat others, even amily members or riends, mightpost on your page or in a blog. Their actions, while


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harmless in intent, could end up embarrassing you,the Court, or worse yet, put you in some danger.

Maintain proessionalism, honesty, and respect.Consider your online dialogue as subject to the samebounds o civility required at work. Employees mustcomply with laws covering libel and deamation ocharacter. Even non-Court specic behavior couldhave ramications on your employment status (e.g.photographs in compromising or illegal situations).

Do not discuss your job responsibilities or theCourt on the Internet. Be careul to avoid leakingcondential inormation. Avoid negative commentaryregarding the Court. Any commentary you postthat could reveal an association with the Court mustcontain an explicit disclaimer that states: These aremy personal views and not those o my employer.Again, remember that even harmless remarks couldbe misconstrued by litigants unamiliar with courtprocesses (such as pro se litigants).

Observe security protocol. Employees must takecare to avoid doing things that would compromisethe security o the courthouse and personnel.To maintain security do not post pictures o the

courthouse, inside or outside; do not post pictures ocourt events; and do not post pictures o the Courts

judicial ocers.

Regularly screen the social media or websites thatyou participate in to ensure nothing is posted whichis contrary to the best interests o the Court. Shouldsuch items appear, it is your responsibility to contactyour supervisor and then immediately delete thecommunication or inormation, even closing downyour Facebook page, etc., as necessary.


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Further, i any employee becomes aware o socialnetworking activity o other sta that would bedeemed distasteul or ail the good judgment test,

please contact your supervisor.7. PRODUCTIVITY IMPACT

The use o Court assets (computers, Internet access,email, etc.) is intended or purposes relevant to theresponsibilities assigned to each employee. Socialnetworking sites are not deemed a requirement or anyposition, and certain job titles are not permitted to accessthese services at work. For employees that are allowedto access these services, social media activities shouldnot interere with work commitments, and must complywith the signed Internet Access Agreement. Unlessotherwise authorized by the Judge, employees who workin the courtroom are prohibited rom using computers,handheld wireless devices, blue-tooth enabled earpiecesand headsets, and other hands-ree wireless devices, ornon-work related reasons when court is in session or thecourtroom is otherwise occupied.

8. COPYRIGHT

Employees must comply with all copyright laws, andreerence or cite sources appropriately. Plagiarism appliesonline as well.

9. TERMS OF SERVICE

Most social networking sites require that users, when theysign up, agree to abide by a Terms o Service document.Court employees are responsible or reading, knowing,and complying with the terms o service o the sites theyuse. It is not the policy o the Court to require employees

to use pseudonyms when signing up or social networkingsites; however, or some employees in sensitive positions,this might be wise. Employees should check with theInormation Technology Department regarding any


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questions about Terms o Service agreements whenaccessing the Internet at work.

10. OFF LIMITS MATERIAL

This policy sets orth the ollowing items which aredeemed o-limits or social networking whether used atCourt or ater work on personal computers, irrespective owhether Court employment is identied:

Seal and Logos

The United States District Court seal and logos may notbe used in any manner.

Politically Sensitive Areas

Employees may not be seen to support any politicalparty or cause. Employees should never indicate apolitical allegiance on social networking sites, either

through prole inormation or through joining politicalgroups. Employees should not express views or oragainst any policy which is a matter o current partypolitical debate. Employees should not advocateany particular position on an issue o current publiccontroversy or debate. I an employee is in doubt, theyshould reer immediately to their supervisor or manager.

The Hatch Act, 5 U.S.C. 7324 et seq., regulates theparticipation o government employees, as defned in5 U.S.C. 7322(1), in certain types o partisan politicalactivities. Although the Hatch Act is not applicable tothe Judicial Branch, the Judicial Conerence has adoptedsimilar restrictions. Canon 5 o the Code o Conduct orJudicial Employees prohibits all active engagement inpartisan political activities, including, but not limited to,

public endorsement o a candidate or contribution toa political campaign. The Code o Conduct should beconsulted or a thorough understanding o the specifcprohibitions on political activity contained in Canon 5. In


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addition, Advisory Opinion No. 92 provides guidelinesor political activities.

Confdential Inormation

One o the most important obligations o employeesis to ensure that non-public inormation learned in thecourse o employment is kept condential. Condentialinormation is strictly orbidden rom any discourseoutside o the appropriate employees o the Court.Inormation published on blog(s) must comply withthe Courts condentiality policies. This also applies to

comments posted on other blogs, orums, and socialnetworking sites. Condential inormation is not to bediscussed or reerred to on such sites, even in privatemessages between site members who have authorizedaccess to the inormation. Court employees shouldalso rerain rom discussing any o the Courts internalprocesses and procedures, whether they are o a non-condential or condential nature.

Online Recommendations

Some sites, such as LinkedIn, allow members torecommend current or ormer co-workers. Ian employee does this as a representative o theCourt, it may give the appearance that the Courtendorses the individual being recommended.

This could create a liability situation i anotherentity hires the recommended person on the basiso the recommendation. Accordingly, the Courtorbids employees to participate in employeerecommendations or reasons o liability. Allcommunication o this type should be reerred toHuman Resources or verication.

11. MONITORING EMPLOYEES USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

The Court reserves the right to monitor its employeesuse o Social Media by monitoring its employees Internetactivities as set orth in the Clerks Oce Employee


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Internet Access Agreement. The Court urther reservesthe right to visit and monitor Social Media sites to ensurethat employees are not violating our Courts SocialMedia Policy via Court or any other computers, includingemployees own personal computers.

12. DISCIPLINARY ACTION

Employees who participate in online communicationdeemed not to be in the best interest o the Courtmay be subject to disciplinary action. Inappropriatecommunication can include, but is not limited to:

Condential Court inormation or data leakage. Inaccurate, distasteul, or deamatory commentary

about the Court. Behavior or communication encouraging behavior

that is illegal, grossly unproessional or in bad taste.

Disciplinary action can include termination or otherintervention deemed appropriate by Human Resources.Please reer to the Employee Manual or inormation onthe appeal procedures or disciplinary actions.

13. COURT REPORTER EXCEPTION

Ocial court reporters have an authorized business reasonto establish and maintain websites that identiy the Courtas their place o employment.


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Federal Judicial Center: Social Networking Guidelines

Center sta using or accessing social networking andsimilar Internet sites (e.g., Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn,Twitter, blogs) should ollow these guidelines.

1.Government time and government equipment are orocial use only. Only limited exceptions are permitted:see Chapter 6, section C, o the FJC Personnel Manual atp. 73 (copy attached). Use o social networking sites orocial purposes (e.g., research related to your work) ispermitted, subject to these guidelines.

2.Even when using social networking services withnongovernment equipment on your own time, you should:

a. Consider careully whether identiying yoursel as aCenter employee (or an employee o the courts or othe U.S. Government) is necessary and appropriate.Whether or not you identiy yoursel as a Centeremployee, be aware that others may recognize youas such. So, in all cases, and especially i you haveidentied yoursel as a Center employee:

(1.) Be careul to avoid a perception that yourcommunications represent the ocial position othe Center;

(2.) Be careul to avoid communications that mayadversely aect perceptions about the qualityand objectivity o your or the Centers work. (Seealso permissible political activities at Chapter1, section M, o the FJC Personnel Manual, atpp.11-14.)

(3.) Do not use the Centers seal, letterhead, or anyother distinctive Center insignia.

b. Not discuss condential or sensitive inormationobtained as a result o working at the Center.


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c. Protect the security o judges and judiciaryemployees; do not divulge the dates or locations oCenter (or other judicial) programs or meetings; do

not post pictures o, or personal inormation about,judges or judiciary employees without their expressconsent and do not post pictures o courthouses orother judiciary buildings.

d. Always think beore you post. Notwithstandingprivacy agreements or promises made by sites,services, or other users, anything posted may be,

or may become, widely accessible, and is likely toremain so long ater it is posted. Ask yoursel, wouldit now, or will it someday, compromise or embarrassyou or others i your post is seen by people beyondthe immediate intended recipients?

3. I you have questions about what may be or should notbe posted please discuss them with your division or ocedirector or the Centers deputy director.

Attachment

Chapter 6, section C, o the FJC Personnel Manual at p. 73:

C. Employee Responsibilities: Use o GovernmentEquipment and Services

Center employees may use government equipment andservices or authorized purposes only. Limited personal useis permitted provided that such use

does not interere with ocial business; occurs when the employee is not expected to be

doing agency business; involves minimal additional expense to the

government; and


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is not illegal, disruptive, oensive, or otherwiseinappropriate.

Note, however, that an employees personal use o agovernment credit card or long-distance telephoneservice is orbidden. The Center makes Internet andemail services available to all its employees in order toprovide a supportive work environment. When usingthese services or other automation resources or ocialor personal purposes, Center employees should haveno expectation o privacy, even when use occurs ontheir own time. Personal use o government-suppliedequipment and services is a privilege o employees, nota right, and supervisors may limit employee access to oruse o government equipment and services beyond thelimits embodied in this policy. You should check with yoursupervisor beore you make use o government equipmentor services i you are at all unsure about how this policymight apply to such use.


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Sample Law Clerk Policies or an Individual JudgesChambers

Sample Policy #1:

The Internet and social networking pose uniquechallenges or law clerks. Clerks are reminded o theirongoing duty o condentiality and the importance okeeping all court inormation condential until it is ociallyreleased by the court. Clerks should use common sensein their online activities during the clerkship. Think beoreyou post and assume that nothing is private. Although

clerks may engage in blogging, social networks andother online activity, none o the posts or messages mayrelate to the law, politics, or work or workplace relatedinormation. Finally, clerks should exercise discretion inidentiying themselves in any way with the U.S. Courts andshould remember that any such identication refects onthe courts and could be interpreted as speaking on behalo the court.

Sample Policy #2:

No blog activity is permitted during the clerkship,including comments to the posts o others. Althoughuse o Facebook, Twitter, and other Internet sites ispermissible, your activity must be restricted. This meansno postings, status updates, links, position statements,

or messages related to law, politics, or work or workplacerelated inormation. Clerks may not identiy themselvesas an employee o the U.S. Courts or a law clerk on anywebsite, nor should clerks join a U.S. Courts or law clerknetwork in social or proessional networking utilities.


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Ofce o the General Counsel

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Social Media Policies for Judicial Employees

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