Does your city or town have a presence on social media? If so, 74 O.S. §840-8.1 requires you to have a social media policy. Specifically, it requires all political subdivisions to adopt a social networking and social media policy that applies to the use of social media by its employees. The stated purpose appears to be to discourage abusive or offensive online behavior. See 74 O.S. §840-8.1(A). It applies to employees who use social media or social networking networks for work purposes. See 74 O.S. §840-8.1(B).
The statute discourages the sharing of content or comments by city or town employees containing:
Obscene sexual content or links to obscene sexual content;
Abusive behavior and bullying language or tone;
Conduct or encouragement of illegal activity; and
Disclosure of information that an agency and its employees are required to keep confidential by law, regulation, or internal policy. See 74 O.S. §840-8.1(C).
Importantly, Social media and social networking policies must be distributed to each affected employee by email. See 74 O.S. §840-8.1(D). Fortunately, cities and towns may not be held liable if a loss or claim results from any discretionary actions taken pursuant to the provisions of this statute. See 74 O.S. §840-8.1(E).
Every year, the Oklahoma Legislature attempts to pass bills that affect cities and towns. Sometimes it is difficult to keep up with all of those changes. This law became effective as of November 1, 2019. It is an important reminder to contact your clients, City or Town Administrators, or City or Town Human Resource personnel to see if they have a social media presence and if so, to ensure that there is a social media policy in place. Templates can be found on the websites of OMAG, the City of Oklahoma City, the City of Lawton, and the State of Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services.