Government plans social media code for staff amid rise in reels by officials

The government is likely to issue a social media code of conduct for its officers and employees amid a growing trend of staff posting reels, videos and personal opinions on platforms such as X, Facebook and Instagram, official sources said.

The matter has been discussed at the highest levels of the government, and the proposed code is being considered to prevent officials from posting videos or opinions on undesirable subjects on social media platforms. Sources said the code, once formulated, would apply to all officers and employees regardless of rank, though it is not yet known when it will be issued or what the guidelines will contain.

The move comes amid a rise in instances of officers putting out content on social media that glorifies their work and position, something not expected of government servants. According to the sources, the government felt the need for a social media code of conduct because there are currently no such rules in place.

Last month, the government reduced the time given to social media



platforms to take down online content in sensitive matters to two hours from the earlier 24 hours. The amendments were made on February 10 this year to the IT Rules 2021 to strengthen the regulatory framework for harms arising from synthetically generated information, including deepfakes and AI-generated content.

An official statement issued on August 6 said: "Strengthening of timelines for compliance, including reduced timelines for removal of unlawful information upon actual knowledge upon valid reasoned intimation from the appropriate government or court orders (timeline reduced from 36 hours to 3 hours) and for grievance redressal (including special categories such as nudity/impersonation etc) (timeline reduced from 72 hours to 36 hours and 24 hours to 2 hours for sensitive matters, respectively)."

In sum, the government is considering a social media code for its staff as it looks to curb inappropriate online posts by officials, while also tightening timelines for the removal of sensitive and unlawful content from online platforms.