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Government Ethics and Social Media: Issues and Challenges (L-R: Jason Baker, Irina Raicu, and David Vossbrink) By Caroline Jaffe-Picl�ett The ovei-�iding theme from the January 31st roundtable on social media and government at The Ethics Center, is that of paradox. We have a multitude of ways to communicate with our constituents, but this is proving to be a double edge "digital sword." Ethical dilemmas and issues of transparency, accountability, and authenticity, were the focus for panelists Jason Balcer, Irina Raicu, and David Vossbrinlc, before an audience of local elected officials from Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. The following 6 principal dilemmas were discussed: *Public vs. Private In a culture �vhere all tweets are archived in the Library of Congress, and enough has been written on Facebook privacy issues to fill a book, the public vs. private debate will be no doubt be with us for some time. Are there any truly "private" posts or, for that matter, private social media channels for elected officials, or is it simply a matter of time before that inevitable disparaging tweet published months ago suddenly reappears? While politicians can expect a loss of privacy as a right of passage in political success, a Facebook page for friends and family is not unreasonable expectation...or is it? While the delicate balance between public and private sorts itself out in social media's new deck of cards, caution and common sense are key. As Vossbrink commented: "The best advice when posting can be gleaned from Microsoft's famous saying: 'Don't be stupid."' *Speed vs. Accuracy In this age of fast-forward news consumption, constituents expect rapid turnaround on the issues from their elected officials. The need for speed increases the margin for error, while the cost of being wrong raises the stakes. Many citizen journalists often "tweet without thinking," so elected