Government to use social media as a tool for governance

NEW DELHI: At a time when the social media is said to have spawned revolutions across the world, including our very own Anna Hazare movement, the government looks set to use the medium as a governance tool.

The department of information technology has framed guidelines for social media interaction with government organizations to optimize use of the popular communication tool to connect with citizens.

The guidelines — stressing on issues like professionalism, openness and privacy for government functionaries — have been uploaded on the ministry’s website and stakeholders’ feedback is invited within this month.

“From NRIs to civil society activists, social media has become the preferred choice for communication for all kinds of people, including those who misuse it. Yet in the government , especially due to some past experiences like the Shahshi Tharoor episode, there are misgivings about its use. Without guidelines people are not very sure about how much to reveal and what to reveal.

Hence, we have developed this framework and put it up for public consultation,” says Shankar Aggarwal, additional secretary in the ministry of communications and information technology.

The framework revolves around seven core values. It says that an official while commenting on issues should clearly identify her/himself in professional capacity, refrain from making personal comments or comments about draft legislations /sub-judice matters, not to reveal personal details of self or others and be open to both positive and negative comments though it may not be essential to respond to all of them.