Air Force Guidance Memorandum, Personal Use of Social Media and Electronic Communication

  • Published
  • By DANIEL R. SITTERLY, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force
  • 439th Airlift Wing
By Order of the Secretary of the Air Force, this guidance memorandum outlines policy on personal use of social media and electronic communication. Compliance with this memorandum is mandatory. To the extent its directions are inconsistent with other Air Force publications, the information herein prevails IAW AFI 33-360, Publications and Forms Management.
This publication implements Air Force Policy Directive 36-29, Military Standards. It applies to all military members of the Regular Air Force, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard. Failure to observe the prohibitions and mandatory provisions in paragraph 2 of this publication by Regular Air Force military members, Air Force Reserve military members on active duty or inactive duty for training, and Air National Guard military members in Title 10 status is a violation of Article 92, Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Personal Use of Social Media and Electronic Communication
Social media, and the use of electronic communication, encourages informal, sometimes intimate, and at times adversarial interactions. Generally, actions prohibited in person are not otherwise condoned or tolerated through social media or electronic communication. Airmen are accountable for their words and actions, including those conveyed by means of electronic communication.
1. Responsibilities
1.1. Military Members. All military members shall treat others with dignity, fairness, and respect at all times. Military members must remember:
1.1.1. Existing standards of professionalism apply to social media and electronic communication. The guidance found in AFI 36-2909, Professional and Unprofessional Relationships, applies to electronic communication and social media interactions by military members, on and off duty.
1.1.2. Existing standards of mutual respect apply to social media and electronic communication. The United States Government, the Department of Defense, and the Air Force will neither condone nor tolerate unlawful discrimination of any kind. The guidance found in AFI 36-2706, Equal Opportunity Program, Military and Civilian, applies to electronic communication and social media interactions, on and off duty for military members.
2. Conduct. Failure by Regular Air Force members, Air Force Reserve members on active duty or inactive duty for training, and Air National Guard members in Title 10 status to obey the prohibitions of this paragraph is a violation of Article 92, Uniform Code of Military Justice. 2.1. A military member will not, without legal justification or lawful authorization, knowingly distribute or broadcast a visual depiction of another identified or identifiable person, when:
2.1.1. The person depicted is engaging in sexually-explicit conduct or the depiction is of the private area of the person depicted; and
2.1.2. The depiction was originally produced under circumstances in which the person depicted had a reasonable expectation of privacy; and
2.1.3. When the distribution or broadcast was with the intent to realize personal gain, or with the intent to humiliate, harm, harass, intimidate, threaten, or coerce the depicted person, or with reckless disregard as to whether the depicted person would be humiliated, harmed, harassed, intimidated, threatened, or coerced; and
2.1.4. When the distributor or broadcaster knew, or should have known, that the depicted person did not consent to the distribution or broadcast.
This memorandum becomes void after one year has elapsed, upon publishing of a new publication permanently establishing this guidance, or upon being incorporated into an existing publication, whichever is earlier.
DANIEL R. SITTERLY
Acting Assistant Secretary
(Manpower and Reserve Affairs)