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Justice Manual

Justice Manual
Title 1: Organization and Functions

1-9.000 - Personal Use of Social Media

1-9.000 - Personal Use of Social Media

Department employees are required at all times to adhere to certain government-wide standards of conduct and Department policies that apply to online communications, regardless of whether the employees are at work, off duty, or using government equipment. Department employees must not use any social media (including all online based tools and applications which are used for social networking, professional networking, or to share and distribute information, including, but not limited to, Facebook, X, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram) in a way that damages the efficiency of the Department and the work it performs through its employees. Specifically, Department employees may not use any social media in a way that adversely affects the maintenance of trust and confidence between supervisors and employees; that hinders the user’s ability to perform the essential functions of their role as federal employees; or that presents obvious risks to professional and mutually respectful collaboration among coworkers. These concerns are magnified whenever an employee’s affiliation with the Department is evident in their online activity, as well as when an employee’s online activity is or becomes public or may be read by other Department employees or stakeholders in the work of the Department.

Therefore, all Department employees should be aware of the following requirements governing the personal use of social media:

  • Department employees are not permitted to conduct official business on personal social media accounts.
  • Department employees are not permitted to include their official Department position or title in any social media activity that is related to the work of the Department.
  • Department employees must not repost official Department information, such as press releases, or comment on the Department’s work.
  • Department employees are not permitted to engage in social media activity in a way that may be perceived by a reasonable person as injecting their political views into the work they perform as a Department employee, or that may cause the public to perceive that their ability to be apolitical and impartial in the performance of their official duties is tainted.
  • Department employees must properly safeguard confidential, privileged, classified, privacy-protected, and sensitive Department information.
  • Department employees are generally restricted from publicly releasing any comments or information regarding matters that the Department is involved with that may reasonably be expected to influence the outcome of that matter, including observations about a defendant’s character or their opinion as to a defendant’s guilt.
  • Department employees may not make false statements or statements in reckless disregard for the truth about any person, particularly those with whom the Department engages with in its work, such as judges or other public officials.
  • Department employees may not make comments (or post, repost, “like,” or upvote the social media content of others) that may be perceived by a reasonable person as conflicting with, or interfering in, the proper and effective performance of their official duties and responsibilities; that creates an appearance that their official duties were performed in a biased manner; or that creates an appearance of official Department sanction or endorsement of the position espoused by the employee.
  • Department employees may not make comments that may be reasonably perceived as harassing or discriminatory, including, without limitation, on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, or sexual orientation.
  • Department employees may not engage in anonymous online activity (or use a pseudonym) to engage in conduct or communications that they otherwise would not be permitted to engage in if their identities were known.

These requirements are not intended to restrict the authority of Assistant Attorneys General, U.S. Attorneys, and other Department leaders from engaging in public communications on social media to promote the Department’s work and further valid community engagement objectives. Department leaders should coordinate with the Office of Public Affairs, which will also address any questions about the scope of this policy or its application.

In addition to the foregoing requirements, Department attorneys should also be aware that the rules of professional conduct in their respective jurisdictions may further limit their personal use of social media. For example:

  • A Department attorney should not post personal opinions on social media that are contrary to the positions that the attorney is advocating for on behalf of the United States, because doing so may create a conflict of interest, or may cause the attorney to become a necessary witness in a matter. See Model Rules 1.7(a)(2) and 3.7(a).
  • A Department attorney must appropriately safeguard the United States’ confidential information from impermissible disclosure on social media. See Model Rule 1.6(a).
  • A Department attorney is generally prohibited from making statements on social media that have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an adjudicative proceeding, or that are likely to heighten condemnation of an accused. See Model Rules 3.6 and 3.8(f).
  • A Department attorney is prohibited from making statements on social media that the attorney knows to be false or with reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity concerning the qualifications or integrity of a judge. See Model Rule 8.2(a).
  • A Department prosecutor should consider whether statements posted on social media may need to be disclosed to satisfy the government’s discovery and ethical disclosure obligations. See Model Rule 3.8(d). 

[Updated April 2025]