A section of Australian bureaucrats warned of using social media like Facebook

A SECTION of Australian bureaucrats have been warned against posting photos of friends and colleagues on websites such as Facebook, Canberra Times reported on Tuesday. The advisory was issued by one of Canberra’s largest workplaces, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, as a part of its new social media policy.

In fact, the debate over how to restrain the new-age bureaucrats, reared on Facebook and Twitter, has now been a global issue, as free and frank sharing of information may at times jeopardize the internal mechanism of dissemination of classified information.

In this backdrop, the Australian department’s advice on how to behave while using blogs and online networks such as Facebook and Twitter, is quite significant. The advice also includes how to deal with new virtual worlds such as Second Life.

According to this advisory, bureaucrats are warned against telling others where they work, even when they are using the internet at home for personal purposes, the newspaper reported. In fact, the fear is that what they write “can be used as source material for journalists and other interested parties”.

“Consider carefully whether you should identify yourself as an (Australian Public Service) employee or an employee of the department…Do not risk any liability for the department by providing online recommendations or referrals for friends and or associates.” the policy says.

Any advisory from DoPT soon?
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