{"id":3056,"date":"2011-10-23T22:08:12","date_gmt":"2011-10-24T03:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/?p=3056"},"modified":"2011-10-23T22:08:12","modified_gmt":"2011-10-24T03:08:12","slug":"usps-policy-regarding-social-media-such-as-facebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/2011\/10\/23\/usps-policy-regarding-social-media-such-as-facebook\/","title":{"rendered":"USPS Policy Regarding Social Media Such As Facebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

ASM Revision: Social Media Policy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Effective October 20, 2011, the Postal Service\u2122 is revising the Administrative Support Manual (ASM), by add\u00ading new Part 363 which delineates the Postal Service policy concerning social media.<\/p>\n

For the purpose of this policy, \u201csocial media\u201d is defined as any form of online publishing or discussion, including but not limited to: Blogs, Wikis, YouTube, Podcasts, Social Networking \u2014 Social sites (such as Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn), Twitter\/Microblogs, and Web 2.0.<\/p>\n

363 Social Media<\/strong><\/p>\n

363.1 Policy
\nFor the purpose of this policy, \u201csocial media\u201d is defined as any form of online publishing or discussion, including but not limited to: Blogs, Wikis, YouTube, Podcasts, Social Networking \u2013 Social sites (such as Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn), Twitter\/Microblogs, and Web 2.0.<\/p>\n

Whether Postal Service employees choose to participate in social media on their own time is their decision. However, when using social media in a personal capacity, employees may not speak for or act on behalf of the Postal Service.<\/p>\n

All uses of social media related to the conduct of official postal business require management consent.<\/p>\n

Contractors and consultants are prohibited from represent\u00ading the Postal Service in the use of any social media tool. While contractors may create content on behalf of the Postal Service, only Postal Service employees may identify them\u00adselves as Postal Service spokespersons and post informa\u00adtion relating to the conduct of official postal business.<\/p>\n

363.2 Responsible Use of Social Media<\/strong><\/p>\n

The following rules and regulations apply to Postal Service employees who use social media in their official capacity to communicate with the public or Postal Service employees.<\/p>\n

a. The web is not anonymous. Generally, everything that you post is accessible to anyone with a browser. Assume that everything you post can be traced back to the Postal Service and to you personally. While some web sites have a restricted content feature, keep in mind that external content is NOT as secure as content that resides on the Postal Service\u2019s Intra\u00adnet. Everything you publish will reflect on the Postal Service\u2019s brand and reputation.<\/p>\n

b. All proprietary information and information cov\u00adered by the Privacy Act are off limits. Do not post Postal Service information that has not already been made available publicly by the Postal Service. Post\u00ading material or online discussion of information relat\u00aded to Postal Service revenue forecasts, personnel matters, future products, unannounced pricing deci\u00adsions, undisclosed financial results, or similar matters is prohibited and might result in legal action against you and\/or the Postal Service. It is your responsibility to respect and protect the Postal Service\u2019s confiden\u00adtial information by not commenting on these topics. When in doubt about what discussion topics or com\u00adments are appropriate, please contact your immedi\u00adate supervisor, Corporate Communications, or the Office of the General Counsel for guidance.<\/p>\n

c. Refer any media inquiries to Corporate Communi\u00adcations. If your blog or other social media applica\u00adtion receives a media inquiry about the Postal Service or its products, services, or employees, you must call Corporate Communications before re\u00adsponding at 202-268-2155.<\/p>\n

d. Be respectful. Whether in the actual or virtual world, your interactions and discourse should be respectful. The Postal Service Standard of Conduct states, \u201cEmployees are expected to maintain harmo\u00adnious working relationships and not to do anything that would contribute to an unpleasant working envi\u00adronment.\u201d Do not verbally attack other individuals or companies. This includes fellow employees, contrac\u00adtors, customers, vendors, and competitors.<\/p>\n

e. Legal requirements. You must comply with brand, trademark, copyright, fair use, privacy, and financial disclosure laws. If you have questions about these, contact the Postal Service Law Department.<\/p>\n

f. Be responsible. Abide by existing Postal Service pri\u00advacy, information security, ethics, and copyright pol\u00adicies. No employee shall post content included in the below listed categories:<\/p>\n

1. Information that infringes on another individual\u2019s privacy rights.
\n2. Personally identifiable or sensitive information, including sensitive business information (e.g., information on Postal Service contracting agree\u00adments, disciplinary actions, pending administra\u00adtive hearings, and internal memos).
\n3. Personal attacks, accusations, threats, or discrim\u00adinatory comments targeting specific individuals or groups.
\n4. Endorsements of political parties, candidates, or groups.
\n5. Discussions of topics unrelated to the Postal Ser\u00advice\u2019s mission.
\n6. Profanity \u2014 any content that is generally consid\u00adered obscene, deceptive, or defamatory.
\n7. Content advocating unlawful action.
\n8. Material that violates copyright laws.<\/p>\n

g. Be transparent. Use your real name, identify that you work for the Postal Service, and be clear about your role. It is never acceptable to hide your identity or try to plant statements that appear to be from an objective observer when they are really made by Postal Service employees in their official capacity.<\/p>\n

363.3 Additional Conduct and Privacy Policies<\/strong><\/p>\n

Additional conduct and privacy policies that apply to Postal Service employees:<\/p>\n

a. Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM), 660 (Conduct).
\nb. Postal Service Standards of Conduct, ELM 665.
\nc. Handbook AS-353, Guide to Privacy, the Freedom of Information Act, and Records Management.
\nd. Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, 5 CFR 2635.
\ne. Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employ\u00adees of the United States Postal Service, 5 CFR 7001.
\nf. Handbook AS-805, Information Security.
\ng. Administrative Support Manual, 333.6, Endorsement of Nonpostal Products, Services, or Businesses.
\nh. The Hatch Act, 5 USC \u00a7\u00a7 7321\u20137326.
\ni. The criminal conflict of interest laws, 18 USC \u00a7\u00a7 201\u2013203, 205, and 207\u2013209.
\nj. The Anti-Lobbying Act, 18 USC \u00a7 1913.<\/p>\n

363.4 Breach of Policy<\/strong><\/p>\n

All Postal Service employees are responsible for complying with this policy. Failure to do so may result in corrective action up to, and including, removal from the Postal Service.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read This Policy Here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ASM Revision: Social Media Policy Effective October 20, 2011, the Postal Service\u2122 is revising the Administrative Support Manual (ASM), by add\u00ading new Part 363 which delineates the Postal Service policy concerning social media. For the purpose of this policy, \u201csocial media\u201d is defined as any form of online publishing or discussion, including but not limited […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-breaking","last_archivepost"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3056"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3059,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3056\/revisions\/3059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}