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Ethics office issues guidance on use of social media The Office of Government Ethics issued a new guidance aimed at clarifying policies related to the use of social media by executive branch employees. By FederalSoup Staff Apr 17, 2015 The Office of Government Ethics issued a new guidance aimed at clarifying policies related to the use of social media by executive branch employees. The new legal advisory comes in the wake of a growing volume of inquiries from agencies concerning employees' personal use of social media in light of their obligations under the Standards of Ethical Conduct and agencies' own usage policies. The new guidance examines a half-dozen topics in depth, including: • Use of government time and property; • Reference to government title or position, and appearance of official sanction; • Recommending and endorsing others on social media; • Seeking employment through social media; • Disclosing nonpublic information; and • Personal fundraising. The advisory also looks at the issue of official social media accounts that are used for conducting agency business, which may be subj ect to other agency directives, regulations and policies. OGE said that "in light of the ever evolving nature of social media," the advice contained in the guidance is "not intended to be comprehensive," and that the office expects to issue more guidance in the future that talces up additional questions related to social media. Source: http://federalsoup.com/Articles/2015/04/17/Ethics-office-issues-�uidance-on-use-of- social-media.as�x