Media: Russian officials will be required to report on their social media activities
Russian officials have been requested to provide information regarding their social media accounts by the 1st of April 2017. Izvestia reported that the relevant documentation is being prepared by the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation.
According to information received, this report has become mandatory due to article 20.2 of the Law “on the state civil service”, which came into effect on the 1st of July 2016. It requests that officials disclose which social networks and forums they use, and under which names.
The newspaper explained that if state officials do not want to disclose this data, they may be dismissed. Officials who do not use social networking and blogs will have to inform management of this in written form.
The ministry explained that officials also may not use social media to report on any activities regarding their official duties even if that information had already been made public on, for example, the official account of the public body or by the press secretary of the ministry.
The ministry went on to say that even though officials will now report on their internet activities, public bodies should still conduct an inspection of civil servants once a year.
The main goal of this requirement is to “ensure the observance of professional conduct rules by civil servants,” the ministry concluded.