Think friends are only ones reading your Facebook posts? Think again

You think your friends are the only ones reading your personal Facebook posts? Think again.

Recent social media posts have led to lockdowns, suspensions, firings and a wake-up call for municipalities across the country to craft policies governing personal social media accounts.

“Social media is kind of an odd territory. When people get on there they forget who they are,” said North Myrtle Beach city spokesman Pat Dowling.

But officials say when people are tasked to serve and protect without bias, personal statements that cast doubt on that objectivity can damage a department, besmirch a city and put the lives of fellow officers at risk.

Three Columbia firefighters and four Richland County EMS workers lost their jobs last week after administrators found posts on personal Facebook accounts about running over Black Lives Matter protestors.

The posts led Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins to temporarily lock down all 32 fire stations in the city and county as a precaution, according to The State.

In Tennessee, a Shelby County deputy was suspended last week over a comment he made about turning a fire hose on protestors who closed the I-40 bridge.

And a Detroit, Mich., detective was demoted after a July 8 Facebook post in which he referred to Black Lives Matter protestors as “terrorists” and “racists.”

The State reported that Columbia is crafting a policy that lays out the do’s and don’ts for city employees when it comes to personal online accounts. The new draft, which is being reviewed by the city’s legal team, will also spell out the punishments violators may incur from reprimands to firings.

North Myrtle Beach, which has also had a “couple of isolated instances” regarding social media posts, finished drafting its own policy on Thursday, Dowling said.

The rough draft is an “extension of the city’s existing policy governing the use of city-owned computers, websites and social media outlets,” Dowling said.

The need for the policy was sparked in part by “a couple of isolated instances where some comments were posted on social media that did not reflect the ethics and/or the mission of our public safety department,” Dowling said, choosing not to elaborate.

North Myrtle Beach had been working to craft a new policy guiding social media usage for employees for several months when city leaders came up with a final rough draft. The policy is under review by the city’s attorney.

“Public safety personnel may face a different level of scrutiny by the general public. It is important that the public view personnel as objective, fair-minded, and above ethical reproach,” Dowling said. “They interact with the public in a very serious way, having to make judgments that can affect the tenor and direction of lives. Trust and respect are important elements in their jobs.”

But Dowling notes there is a fine line between free speech protected under the First Amendment and expressing opinions that could put fellow officers or departments in jeopardy.

The city of Myrtle Beach asks that employees remind the public that the opinions they may express on their personal sites are not the views of the city.

A policy regarding social media has been in place for Myrtle Beach employees since 2010.

“It was prompted by a general recognition of the growing presence of social media in everyone’s life and the need to do the public’s business in a timely, efficient manner,” said city spokesman Mark Kruea.

According to the policy, employees are not allowed to post on any “personal websites,” including Facebook, Twitter and MySpace or on blogs or in chatrooms, during scheduled working hours or at any time with city equipment, unless the postings are part of the employee’s job.

“All other city rules and policies regarding discrimination and harassment apply in full force to personal websites and social networking,” the policy states. The city “does not condone or tolerate discrimination.”

The policy prohibits “all forms of unlawful harassment.” It also bans employees from “engaging in any conduct, activities, communication or postings which violate city policies regarding discrimination and harassment.

“No messages with derogatory or inflammatory language about any legally protected characteristic shall be transmitted or retrieved. No abusive, profane or offensive language is to be transmitted,” according to the policy.

And any other conduct considered unlawful in any other forum is also a no-go with blogs, social networks, text messages or by other electronic means.

Employees who violate the policy could face disciplinary action, including termination.

Violations of the Myrtle Beach policy can also result in criminal prosecution, reimbursement of expenses incurred as a result of the violation and other legal actions, according to the rule in the city’s employee handbook.

“To my knowledge,” Kruea said, “we’ve not experienced any major issues with violations.”

In Horry County, “the only social media policy that I am aware of is in our police department,” said county spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier. “I am not aware of a specific incident surrounding its creation, but a countywide policy could be an item we address in the future.”

The county does have a disciplinary section in employee handbooks that can be applied to situations of misconduct.

This story was originally published July 22, 2016 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Think friends are only ones reading your Facebook posts? Think again."