J&K administration unveils guidelines on use of social media by govt employees in UT

In Jammu and Kashmir, the administration on Friday unveiled guidelines regarding the use of social media by Government employees in the Union Territory.

According to the guidelines, no Government employee shall, through any post, tweet or otherwise, discuss or criticise on social media, any policy pursued or action taken by the Government, nor shall he/she, in any manner, participate in any such discussion or criticism on social media pages communities/microblogs. The guidelines state that no employee shall post, tweet or share content that is political or anti-secular and communal in nature or subscribe to pages, communities or Twitter handles and blogs of such nature. 

The guidelines further read, "No employee shall himself/herself or through any person dependent on him/her for maintenance, or under



his care or control, undertake any such activity on social media which is, or tends directly or indirectly to be, subversive of the Government as by law established in the country or in the Union territory." 

According to the government, the employees, directly or indirectly, shall not publish, post or release any information on social media that is considered confidential or that is not meant for public dissemination. 

But the guidelines allow employees to defend and explain to the public the policy of the Government through their social media posts. The Government said that violation of these guidelines/rules shall be tantamount to misconduct and invite disciplinary action against the delinquent official under the relevant rules.