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Ref. Ares(2021)4153264 - 25/06/2021
SOCIAL 
MEDIA 
GUIDELINES 
FOR STAFF 

PURPOSE
Thinking  of  using  your  personal  social  media  account  to  communicate on EU 
matters, but not sure about the rules and best practice for this? 
Social media can be an excellent communication tool and help amplify messages and 
facilitate connections to new audiences. As an institution, we would like to encourage 
and empower you to use these channels to speak about the EU and its policies with 
the general public. 
The EU needs the advocacy of committed Europeans, and Commission staff have an 
important role to play. We hope that many of you will act as ambassadors of our 
European policies and values, including in your use of social media. 
However, there are certain considerations you need to bear in mind. This is because 
the very nature of social media often makes it difficult to draw lines between public/
professional and personal use. 
In addition, even when you use social media in your personal capacity, you remain a 
member of Commission staff and are bound by certain obligations resulting from the 
Staff Regulations (in particular Articles 11, 11a, 12, 17, 17a), as set out below. 
To  help  you  respect  these  statutory  obligations,  these  Guidelines  provide  you  with 
advice on how to use social media to communicate on EU matters, in a way that is 
appropriate and safe
Although  the  present  Guidelines  do  not  cover  your  personal  use  of  social 
media when it is not related to EU matters, some of the rules and practical 
recommendations also apply (see Part 4). 
SCOPE
These Guidelines cover the personal use of social media when communicating 
on EU matters
They apply to all Commission staff, which means:
• statutory staff (officials, temporary agents and contract agents) 
•     seconded national experts
  (for their obligations, see Article 7 of Commission Decision C (2008) 6866)
•  contractors or other service providers (who should also use these guidelines as a 
point of reference when using social media in their personal capacity). 
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These Guidelines do not cover cases where staff have been mandated to 
speak on behalf of the Commission, to act on behalf of the Commission in the 
Commission’s administrative relations with the public, or to relay institutional 
messages as part of their duties (e.g. Commissioners, spokespersons, Heads 
of Representation, press officers in Representations, or when staff post on the 
social media profiles of an official EC presence, such as EC corporate accounts, 
DGs, Representations or EU programmes).
"PUBLICATIONS" – SPECIAL RULES
Some social media content (e.g. blogs) may amount to a "publication", as defined in 
the Staff Regulations. If so, the respective Staff Regulations rules apply – especially 
the requirement to get prior approval from your institution (Article 17a)
What makes something a publication?
The main criteria to consider are the length, the text itself and the audience.
Publication
Opinions which go beyond a short appreciation and amount to a structured stand-
alone text.
Not a publication
–  Short messages that consist merely of sharing pre-existing content.
–  Opinions which consist of simply expressing a short appreciation (thoughts, beliefs, 
or feelings) of a pre-existing content.
More  details  on  MyIntraComm:  Staff  Matters  -> Ethics ->  Individual  Obligations  -> 
Right of Freedom of Expression. If in doubt, contact the Central Ethics Service HR.E.3.
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RULES & PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS 
1. PRINCIPLE OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
As a Commission staff member, you can use social media, in your own personal 
capacity, including to share or comment on EU-related content and topics
We encourage you to make full use of the opportunities offered by social media for 
this purpose, in accordance with the principles in these Guidelines. 
We recommend that you use official sources to share content related to EU matters.  
One convenient option is the staff advocacy tool Smarp, which contains dozens of 
interesting, ready-to-share stories.  
Signing up is quick and easy at ec.smarpshare.com. 
If you have questions, contact xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
You  must  ensure  that  your  use  of  social  media  does  not  mistakenly  give 
the  impression  that  you  are  speaking  on  behalf  of  the  Commission.  Where 
appropriate, you should use a disclaimer (e.g. in the profile of your account) 
stating that you are responsible for the content and that it does not necessarily 
reflect the views of the European Commission.
While everyone is free to open a personal social media account, the creation of 
dedicated Commission accounts, e.g. to communicate around projects, needs 
to  be  agreed  with  your  social  media  team  and  DG  COMM.  Using  the  latter 
accounts falls under the mandated use of social media, which is not covered 
by these Guidelines.
 
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2. YOUR DUTIES RESULTING FROM THE STAFF REGULATIONS
Whether you choose to state where you work or not on social media, be aware that 
you are at all times:
- bound by the Staff Regulations (especially Articles 11, 11a, 12, 17, 17a)  
accountable for your actions
At  any  time,  even  if  you  use  social  media  to  communicate  on  EU  matters  in  your 
personal capacity, you remain a member of the Commission staff and your activity 
might be traced back to you and the Institution.
Failure to comply with the Staff Regulations in the context of the application of these 
Guidelines may lead to disciplinary follow-up. 
The core principles that apply are summarised below. If in doubt, contact your manager 
and/or  your  communication  unit/team.  If  the  question  relates  specifically  to  the 
application of Ethics rules, contact the Central Ethics Service HR.E.3. 
a. Circumspection
Exercise caution, carefulness, moderation and a due sense of proportion and 
propriety (see also section “c” below).
In practice:
-  Think about your contributions to social media in the same way as you would do if 
you communicate with other media or speak at meetings and conferences;
- Remain respectful at all times (never use offensive language or content);
- Ignore provocation and be aware of the potential escalation of the online conversation;
-  Be aware that any online message (even if initially posted in a private forum) can 
become public and, once posted, it is difficult to remove it;
-  Be aware that third persons may also perceive you as a Commission official and a 
representative of the European institutions even if you have made a disclaimer.
b. Confidentiality
As  a  member  of  Commission  staff,  you  have  an  obligation  not  to  disclose,  without 
authorisation, information received in the line of duty, unless that information has 
already been made public or is accessible to the public (see however section “c” below).
Unauthorised disclosure of information, intentionally or through negligence, notably to 
somebody outside the Institution who should not know about this information (at least 
before a certain "release date"), constitutes a leak and can be highly damaging to the 
interests of the Commission.
In practice:
-  Internal documents such as drafts, data, notes, emails etc. (and in particular, classified 
or sensitive information) can never be shared or referred to on social media;
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-  Do not disclose any information about the exact nature of your work that is not yet 
publicly available; in particular, do not mention any reference to specific sensitive 
files you may be working on.
c. Objectivity, impartiality and loyalty to the Institution
While you are entitled to freedom of expression, you need to pay due respect to 
the  limits  resulting  from  the  Staff  Regulations  and  notably  from  the  principles  of 
objectivity, loyalty and impartiality
Be careful to avoid any act or behaviour which might reflect adversely upon your 
position and the Commission (cf. Article 12 of the Staff Regulations), e.g. sharing 
content which could have a negative impact on the Commission’s reputation and/or 
could pose a security risk on the Commission’s assets, particularly when you identify 
yourself as a staff member of the European Commission or when the context might 
lead to that conclusion.
When  sharing  content,  always  take  into  account  your  position  and  your  field  of 
expertise. If public content relates to your precise area of work, it could have a greater 
impact on the audience you decide to share it with. 
Before sharing such content, you should pay extra attention to the sensitivity of the 
file (unless an official Commission account has already promoted the same content 
in social media previously). If in doubt, consult your communication team and/or your 
line manager in advance before taking any action.
John Doe @JohnDoe 4h
The project number 3
is very cool
#euisnumber3
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In some instances, even commenting on public information or targeting a 
specific audience when sharing content could be seen a breach of impartiality 
by your institution (especially if related to investigations or calls for tender).
In practice:
-  Only  share  correct  information;  be  aware  of  fake  news  and  an  evolving  media 
landscape where everyone can post information;
-  Never  post  content  on  social  media  which  could  have  a  negative  impact  on  the 
Commission's  reputation  and/or  could  pose  a  security  risk  on  the  Commission's 
assets;
-  Fully anonymous use of social media (i.e. with "dummy" untraceable accounts) is 
not recommended;
-  Do not express opinions that could impair your ability to be seen as performing your 
duties in an objective or impartial manner.
-  Pay particular attention not to be seen as speaking on behalf of the Commission 
when the content relates to your area of work.
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3. PERSONAL USE OF COMMISSION ICT SERVICES
When  using  the  Commission's  ICT  (information  and  communication  technology) 
services to post on social media in your personal capacity, follow the:
– guidelines on using ICT services (admin. notice n° 24-2016)
– rules on personal use of ICT services 
Personal use of social media while using the Commission ICT equipment is permitted, 
if it is limited and reasonable (similar to, for example, personal use of professional 
e-mail or telephone in the office).
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4.GENERAL ADVICE WHEN USING SOCIAL MEDIA
a. Be aware of privacy settings
Content on a social media platform can be shared and made available to different 
audiences,  depending  on  the  platform  and/or  the  settings  chosen  by  the  user  (e.g. 
to the public or only to friends or friends of friends). You may also be able to control 
whether content you post can be re-shared by others. 
Make sure you carefully read the privacy policies and learn to manage the privacy and 
data protection settings of different platforms on which you are active. 
In practice:
-  Be  aware  of  the  risks  linked  to  content  you  have  previously  published  or  threads 
where you intervened but which you do not control because they can be publically 
shared; 
-  Always be aware that any detail of your personal life you disclose could be misused 
by  third  parties,  e.g.  to  harm  you  or  the  Commission  and  other  European  Union 
institutions;
-  We recommend you minimise the availability of key personal data such as your date 
and place of birth.
b. Respect copyright
If you want to use content such as texts, pictures, videos or music that belongs to 
third parties in social media, you must be aware that this content may be protected 
by copyright.
You  can  use  someone  else's  photo  (or  any  other  copyrighted  material)  when  the 
copyright owner gives you written permission specifically to use the content in social 
media (a generic permission to use the content on the web is not sufficient). 
In practice:
- Unless explicitly stated, any picture you find on the internet could be copyrighted; 
-  Check the licence of every image before using it on social media. If you are not sure 
about  the  rights/ownership,  do  not  use  that  picture.  Please  note  that  widely  used 
licences (for instance, Creative Commons) are often not compatible with most social 
media’s terms of use;
-  Also, respect the privacy of people depicted in photos and videos, and don’t post a 
person’s image without their consent;
-  You may at any time ask the Commission’s communication units to provide you with 
material that you can use on social media.  
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c. Maintain strong security of your accounts
In practice:
-  If  you  use  social  media  mostly  for  personal  use,  use  your  private  e-mail  address 
rather than your European Commission e-mail;
-  Be  aware  that  fake  social  media  messages  or  profiles  are  often  used  to  perform 
phishing and ultimately hack your account;
-  Choose strong passwords, different from your passwords at work, and change them 
regularly;
- Use any additional security options, such as stronger authentication methods;
-   If  you  suspect  your  account  has  been  hacked,  reset  your  password  immediately, 
make sure the e-mail address connected to the account is secure, revoke connections 
to  third  party  applications  and  update  the  passwords  in  your  trusted  third-party 
applications.
PC password
12345
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d. If you have made a mistake, correct it as soon as possible
In practice:
-  On Twitter, post a new tweet stating it is a correction of a previous one and delete 
the one with the error;
- On other platforms, edit the post in question (if possible);
-  If your attention is brought to the problem by someone else, thank them for letting 
you know and inform them you have made the correction.
If there is a security-related incident and it may harm the Commission or yourself, 
report it immediately to the HR Security Directorate.
REVISION
The effectiveness of these guidelines will be evaluated three years after they are 
adopted, or earlier if necessary, and may be revised.
These guidelines replace the information contained in Administrative Notice N° 34-
2011 of 19 August 2011 on Social Media Guidelines for all staff.
Irene SOUKA
Timo PESONEN
Director-General - DG HR and Security
Director-General – DG COMM
CONTACTS
DG HR – Central Ethics Service: xxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
DG COMM – Social Media Team: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
DG HR – Security Directorate: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
January 2019 
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Electronically signed on 23/06/2021 22:07 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 11 of Commission Decision C(2020) 4482