Ask the Lawyer: Using social media OK, but be careful what you post - Military Law, Military Law Advice, Ask a Lawyer - Navy Times

Ask the Lawyer: Using social media OK, but be careful what you post

Q. Can I get in trouble for maintaining my Facebook page or using any other social media?

A. When the Defense Department issued Directive-Type Memorandum 09-026 in February 2010, it made clear that service members are authorized to use social networking websites such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

But while DoD recognizes the benefits of allowing service members to use social media to easily communicate with large audiences, defense officials are very concerned about the security threats posed by this technology.

For example, in its 2011 Social Media Handbook, the Army advised soldiers to refrain from mentioning on social media their rank, unit locations, deployment dates, names or equipment specifications and descriptions.

Privacy settings should be set to permit visibility to “friends only.” Soldiers should also refrain from tagging location information to photos (“geotagging”) posted on Flickr or Picasa and from using location-based social media services.

The other services have developed similar guidelines.

Service members need to remember that they are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice even while off duty. They must be especially careful about posting comments on Facebook or Myspace pages. While civilians can post disparaging comments about people they don’t like, disrespectful posts about a superior commissioned officer could violate Article 89 of the UCMJ.

Messages sent over Facebook or Myspace also may be used to support a charge of adultery under Article 134. That was the case in U.S. v. Petty, in which the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals allowed the admission of incriminating emails sent over a six-month period on Myspace as evidence.

An Air Force recruiter and a potential recruit explicitly discussed their sexual relations in the emails, which contributed to the recruiter’s conviction for adultery.

Highlighting the strong relationship between social networking sites and extramarital affairs, a February 2010 study by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers found that 81 percent of divorce attorneys over the past five years have seen an increase in the number of cases using online social networking evidence, with 66 percent citing Facebook as a primary source.

Both in civilian and military spheres, the government can easily locate and examine content posted on social networking sites.

Think before you post.