Why Govt barred its employees from using social media?

The government has restricted all government employees from accessing social media sites, ostensibly to prevent the leak of official information and records.

According to a notification issued by the Establishment Division, no government employee may engage in any media platform unless the government grants authorization.

According to mainstream press, the memorandum states that government employees were not permitted to make “any statement of fact or opinion capable of embarrassing the government in any documents published or in any communication made to the press or in any public utterance, television program, or radio broadcast delivered by him or her” under Rule 22.

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The notification provided comprehensive directions to government workers under the Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1964, controlling government servants’ engagement in various media venues, including social media platforms, for compliance.

The notification further said that Rules 21, 25, 25-A, and 25-B of the Rules prohibited a government official from expressing ideas detrimental to Pakistan’s ideology and integrity, as well as any government policy or decision.

Any breach of the instructions will be deemed misconduct and will lead to disciplinary action against the delinquent government official under the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020. Furthermore, the notices said that disciplinary procedures would be initiated against serving government employees if they were administrators of a social media group if any infraction had occurred.