General Orders Details

Purpose

To provide guidelines for all Indiana University Police Department (IUPD) personnel regarding posting on social media sites or through other electronic communications, for both official and personal use. This general order is not meant to address one particular form of social media, but rather social media in general, as advances in technology will continue to occur and new tools emerge.

General Order

Social media provides a valuable means of assisting the IUPD and its personnel in meeting community outreach, recruitment, problem-solving, investigative, crime prevention, and related objectives. This general order identifies procedures and guidelines for official department use.

The IUPD also recognizes the role that these tools play in the personal lives of some department personnel. However, personal use of social media can have bearing on department personnel in their official capacities. As such, this general order also provides requirements for and restrictions on certain types of personal social media usage by IUPD personnel.

The IUPD understands and fully supports the protections provided to its personnel under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and recognizes that free intellectual inquiry, debate, and constructive dialogue are vital to the university’s academic mission and must be protected even when the views expressed are unpopular or controversial. Accordingly, nothing in this general order will be interpreted to prohibit or discourage any form of speech or expressive conduct that is protected by state or federal law, including the First Amendment.

Definition

Blog – A self-published diary or commentary on a particular topic that may allow visitors to post responses, reactions, or comments.

Post – Content an individual shares on a social media site or the act of publishing content on a site.

Social media – A category of Internet-based resources that integrate user-generated content and user participation. This includes, but is not limited to, social networking sites, microblogging sites, photo- and video-sharing sites, professional networking sites, wiki or web page(s) that can be edited collaboratively, blogs, and news sites.

Speech – Expression or communication of thoughts or opinions in spoken words, in writing, by expressive conduct, symbolism, photographs, videos, or related forms of communication.

Code of conduct for public electronic communication (4.1.4 b)

Department Use

The superintendent for public safety will approve all IUPD social media sites or pages. These official sites or pages will only be administered by staff authorized by the superintendent for public safety and will adhere to all applicable laws, regulations, Indiana University (IU) policies and guidelines and IUPD general orders.

Care must be taken to maintain the integrity of the IUPD and Indiana University brands online. IUPD social media pages and postings will conform with IU’s guidelines, rules, and expectations regarding social media branding for IU-affiliated pages (see “Related Information” below).

Where possible, official IUPD social media pages will include:

• notification that the page is not monitored 24/7 and a direction to call 911 in the event of an emergency;
• a link to the IUPD’s official website;
• a statement that the opinions expressed by visitors to the page do not reflect the opinions of the IUPD; and
• a statement that user-generated posts that are unlawful, violent, defamatory, or obscene may be removed at the discretion of the IUPD.

Official IUPD social media pages, and IUPD personnel utilizing social media for official IUPD purposes, will:

• adhere to all IU policies and IUPD directives and maintain proper decorum in social media posts;
• identify themselves as a member of or as being affiliated with the IUPD, if applicable;
• not make statements about the guilt or innocence of any suspect or arrestee, or comments concerning pending prosecutions, nor post, transmit, or otherwise disseminate confidential information;
• not conduct political activities or private business via official IUPD social media platforms;
• monitor public comments and respond to those comments that may cause misinformation or otherwise require follow up or reporting;
• provide current and up-to-date information; and
• observe and abide by all copyright, trademark, and service mark restrictions in posting materials to electronic media.

Comments posted on IUPD social media pages should not be removed solely based on the expressed opinion of the user. However, the IUPD will not tolerate comments, posts, or activities on its official pages that are unlawful, violent, defamatory, or obscene.

The superintendent for public safety will designate staff members who are authorized to remove user-generated posts on official IUPD social media pages. User-generated posts may be removed by such authorized IUPD personnel when the post:

• could reasonably compromise individual or public safety, including the safety of IUPD personnel;
• could compromise the integrity of an investigation or official proceeding;
• includes confidential information about IU or IUPD or its faculty, staff, or students, including confidential information as defined by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) regulations;
• contains obscenity;
• is threatening, harassing, predatory, or discriminatory;
• promotes violence or illegal activities;
• advertises or promotes a commercial product or service, or any entity or individual;
• violates the intellectual property rights of any party, including copyright or trademark infringement; or
• appears to be spam or comments generated by “bots”.

When reasonably possible, IUPD personnel should consult with the IU General Counsel’s office prior to removing a user-generated post. Posts that contain sensitive or confidential personal information, could reasonably compromise individual or public safety, including the safety of IUPD personnel, or that may jeopardize the integrity of an investigation or official proceeding will be removed immediately. The IUPD will not block users from official IUPD accounts without prior consultation with and approval from the IU General Counsel’s office.

Personal Use

IUPD personnel are free to use personal social media accounts at their own discretion and are free to express themselves as private citizens on social media sites to the extent permitted by federal and state law and university and IUPD policies and directives. However, an employee’s inappropriate public actions or words, including social media posts, can undermine the campus community’s confidence in both the IUPD and the employee’s ability to effectively provide public safety services. Accordingly, IUPD personnel are held to a high standard of conduct that is reflective of the values of both IU and IUPD and the public confidence and trust that is placed in the agency.

IUPD personnel will consider the following rules and guidelines regarding personal social media usage:

• When engaging in online activity or utilizing social media, IUPD personnel are required to uphold and abide by all IU and IUPD policies, procedures, and general orders.
• Personal social media posts may not impair working relationships of the IUPD for which loyalty and confidentiality are important, impede the performance of duties, impair discipline or effective operations among IUPD personnel, or negatively affect the public perception of the IUPD. In particular, social media posts by IUPD personnel will not contain:
  • content that jeopardizes the safety of an individual or the public, including the safety of IUPD personnel;
  • content that may compromise the integrity of an investigation or other official proceeding;
  • speech containing obscene or sexually explicit language, images, or acts;
  • speech that is harassing, threatening, predatory, or discriminatory;
  • speech that incites violence or constitutes a “true threat”;
  • content reflecting behavior by IUPD personnel that would reasonably be considered reckless or irresponsible;
  • private facts and personal information about someone without that person’s permission that has not been previously revealed to the public, is not of legitimate public concern, and would be offensive to a reasonable person;
  • someone else’s name, image, likeness, or other personal attributes without that person’s permission for an exploitative purpose; or
  • content that violates copyright, trademark, or service mark restrictions.
• Online activity during working hours or using IUPD equipment must be primarily business related. Occasional personal use is permitted, however, consistent with university policy, personal use will not interfere with the employee’s primary law enforcement responsibilities.
• IUPD personnel will not post, transmit, or otherwise disseminate any information which is sensitive or confidential in nature to which they have access as a result of their employment with IUPD without written permission from the superintendent for public safety or the superintendent’s designee.
• For safety and security reasons, IUPD personnel are encouraged to use caution when disclosing their employment with IUPD or posting department-related information. This caution is intended as guidance to protect officers and their families, prevent department rule violations, and prevent the potential negative consequences of an officer exposing their position. As such, members should use caution when:
  • displaying IUPD logos, uniforms, or similar identifying items on personal social media sites. (4.1.4 a)
  • posting personal photographs or providing similar means of personal recognition that may cause the person to be identified as a member of the IUPD. (4.1.4 a)
• IUPD personnel are prohibited from displaying IUPD material, photographs, images, recordings, logos, uniforms, or similar identifying items in social media posts that reflect negatively on the IUPD. (4.1.4 a)
• IUPD personnel will not post information or photos/videos pertaining to any other member of the IUPD without that individual’s permission. IUPD personnel will never share any information relating to an officer death or injury without prior written authorization or until the information has been publicly disseminated.
• IUPD personnel will never, implicitly or explicitly, represent that they speak for or on behalf of the IUPD or IU unless they have been authorized to do so by the superintendent for public safety or the superintendent’s designee. In personal social media posts, IUPD personnel should ensure it is clear that the post expresses the views, opinions, or beliefs of the individual poster, not of the IUPD or IU. IUPD personnel will not divulge information gained because of their authority; make any statements, speeches, appearances, and endorsements; or publish materials that could reasonably be considered to represent the views or positions of the IUPD without express authorization from the superintendent for public safety or the superintendent’s designee.
• IUPD personnel should expect that any information created, transmitted, downloaded, exchanged, or discussed in a public online forum may be accessed by the IUPD at any time without prior notice.

Related Information

Indiana University

• Indiana University Brand / Managing Communications / Social Media: https://www.iu.edu/brand/manage-communications/social-media/index.html