The impact of polices on government social media usage: Issues, challenges, and recommendations

• Published in: Government information quarterly 2012-01, Vol.29 (1), p.30-40
• Main Authors: Bertot, John Carlo, Jaeger, Paul T., Hansen, Derek
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Access; Access to information; Communication; Decision-making; E-government; Electronic government; Federal Government; Governance; Government Agencies; Government and politics; Inclusion; Information policies; Information policy; Information technology; Management; Mass Media; Police; Policy; Policy Analysis; Regulation; Security; Services; Social media; Social networks; Telecommunications Policy
• ISSN: 0740-624X; 1872-9517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.giq.2011.04.004

Government agencies are increasingly using social media to connect with those they serve. These connections have the potential to extend government services, solicit new ideas, and improve decision-making and problem-solving. However, interacting via social media introduces new challenges related to privacy, security, data management, accessibility, social inclusion, governance, and other information policy issues. The rapid adoption of social media by the population and government agencies has outpaced the regulatory framework related to information, although the guiding principles behind many regulations are still relevant. This paper examines the existing regulatory framework and the ways in which it applies to social media use by the U.S. federal government, highlighting opportunities and challenges agencies face in implementing them, as well as possible approaches for addressing these challenges. ► Social media usage by government raises significant new policy challenges, including access, governance, privacy, security, and archiving. ► Many policies about previous technologies relate to government social media usage. ► Researchers can investigate a wide range of questions to help shape more inclusion policies related to social media.