Public Service Ethics vs. Social Media Use in Russia

The wide use of social media by public authorities and officials is now an international trend now. Modern political and government leaders find here great opportunities to promote their policies and boost citizens' participation. On the other hand, recently adopted legal and official documents e.g. Guidelines, Codes of Conduct demonstrate that the use of social media by public servants and employees is not so encouraged or sometimes explicitly prohibited even when it is for purely 'personal' purposes. Thus, it becomes evident that national governments seek now to control online activities of their employees explaining it mainly by ethical reasons in order to guarantee fairness, impartiality and neutrality of public service and to avoid any adverse interference. For this purpose, Russia adopted in 2016 a federal law creating an obligation of public servants to declare any use of social media before their authority. This new initiative could shift the existing balance between the right to privacy and public service ethics especially in absence of any coherent and explicit regulation on social media use by public employees in Russia.