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DAOD 6002-7, Internal Use of Social Media Technologies

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Definitions
  3. Overview
  4. Requirements
  5. Responsibilities
  6. References

1. Introduction

Date of Issue: 2012-07-25

Application: This DAOD is a directive that applies to employees of the Department of National Defence (DND employees) and an order that applies to officers and non-commissioned members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF members).

Approval Authority: Assistant Deputy Minister (Information Management) (ADM(IM)) / Chief Information Officer (CIO)

Enquiries: Director Defence Information Management Planning (DDIMP)

2. Definitions

blog (blogue)

Has the same meaning as in section 9 of the Treasury Board Guideline to Acceptable Use of Internal Wikis and Blogs Within the Government of Canada.

community leads (leaders communautaires)

Has the same meaning as in section 9 of the Treasury Board Guideline to Acceptable Use of Internal Wikis and Blogs Within the Government of Canada.

internal collaboration (collaboration interne)

Has the same meaning as in section 9 of the Treasury Board Guideline to Acceptable Use of Internal Wikis and Blogs Within the Government of Canada.

social media (médias sociaux)

A set of web-based tools and services that permits participants with distinct user profiles to create, share and interact with user-generated content, including text, images, video and audio.

wiki (wiki)

Has the same meaning as in section 9 of the Treasury Board Guideline to Acceptable Use of Internal Wikis and Blogs Within the Government of Canada.

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3. Overview

Context

3.1 The use of social media within the Government of Canada (GC) includes the use of blogs, wikis, communities of practice, fora and other collaborative technologies. These technologies are used to enhance the agility and breadth of consultation within communities of interest by providing a participative environment that permits reviewing, editing and commenting on shared content.

3.2 DND and CAF communities of practice may establish internal social media sites to:

  1. improve service performance and integrate service delivery;
  2. achieve efficiencies in the preparation, accessibility and dissemination of information; and
  3. foster interactive communications and facilitate consultation in the development and delivery of policies, programs, services and initiatives.

3.3 Treasury Board has established the Guideline to Acceptable Use of Internal Wikis and Blogs Within the Government of Canada to provide practical advice and guidance on the implementation and acceptable use of the social media technologies internal to the GC.

3.4 This DAOD is part of the DND and CF IM and IT Policy Framework and should be read in conjunction with other relevant ADM(IM) policies, instructions, directives, standards and guidance.

Objective

3.5 The objective of this DAOD is to establish the roles and responsibilities for the effective internal DND and CAF use of social media technologies.

Expected Results

3.6 The expected results of this DAOD in the DND and the CAF are the following:

  1. increased use of internal collaborative technologies to improve decision-making processes;
  2. improved efficiencies in approval processes based on a collaborative development approach; and
  3. increased awareness of the legislation, policies, directives, standards and guidelines that apply to the use of internal social media technologies.

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4. Requirements

Information Management and Recordkeeping

4.1 Most social media technologies do not include recordkeeping functionality for the proper retention and disposition of information of business value. Community leads must therefore ensure that any such information is added to the appropriate recordkeeping repository, and profiled in accordance with the DAOD 6001 series.

Standards for Web Usability and Accessibility

4.2 The rules set out in the Treasury Board Standard on Web Usability and the Standard on Web Accessibility must be applied when implementing social media technologies.

Official Languages

4.3 The Treasury Board Directive on the Use of Official Languages in Electronic Communications applies to all internal social media sites. Interfaces must therefore be implemented according to language-of-work designations, but contributors may add content in either official language.

Access to Information and Privacy

4.4 All information posted to internal social media sites is subject to the provisions of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. Site user agreements must inform and remind contributors of the applicability of these Acts.

Defence Ethics

4.5 While using internal social media sites, DND employees and CAF members must conduct themselves professionally and ethically, and comply with DAOD 7023-1, Defence Ethics Program.

Acceptable Use

4.6 As the internal use of social media technologies requires access to the defence intranet, DND employees and CAF members must comply with DAOD 6002-2, Acceptable Use of the Internet, Defence Intranet, Computers and Other Information Systems. There should be no expectation of privacy when using internal social media sites.

Communications and Public Affairs

4.7 The Assistant Deputy Minister (Public Affairs) is the functional authority for communication and public affairs programmes for DND and the CAF, including the management of Internet publishing and advising on internal communications. DAOD 2008-0, Public Affairs Policy, and DAOD 2008-6, Internet Publishing, provide the operating principles required for community leads and technical administrators to implement and monitor internal social media sites.

Personal Information and Opinions

4.8 Personal information such as résumés, educational credentials, home addresses, personal identifiers and photographs should not be posted to internal social media sites. However, the Privacy Act states that certain types of personal information are excluded from the definition for purposes of use and disclosure, and therefore do not need to be protected. DND employees and CAF members may choose to share this excluded information, which is detailed in paragraph 6.3 of the Guideline to Acceptable Use of Internal Wikis and Blogs Within the Government of Canada.

4.9 Personal opinions that relate to the position and functions of the individual as a DND employee or CAF member that would have normally been expressed in the course of their duties may be expressed on internal social media sites. In expressing personal opinions, individuals must be respectful of other contributors and of their contributions.

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5. Responsibilities

Responsibility Table

5.1 The following table identifies the responsibilities associated with this DAOD:

The ... is or are responsible for ...
Director General Enterprise Application Services
  • providing lifecycle management and technical support of internal social media technology platforms; and
  • developing standards for the management of such platforms.
community leads
  • informing participants of all applicable legislation, policies, directives, standards, guidelines and other requirements prior to granting access to an internal social media site;
  • managing site accounts and settings for appropriate access control;
  • monitoring site content for appropriateness and compliance with DAOD 2008-0, DAOD 5039-0, Official Languages, and DAOD 7023-1; and
  • ensuring that information of business value is included in the approved information management repository, in accordance with the DAOD 6001 series.
DND employees and CAF members
  • ensuring their contributions to internal social media sites are in accordance with DAOD 2008-0, DAOD 6002-2 and DAOD 7023-1; and
  • complying, prior to using internal social media sites, with any additional or specific terms set out by their internal administrators.

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6. References

Acts, Regulations, Central Agency Policies and Policy DAOD

Other References

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