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The Metropolitan King County Council today took action toward its continuing goal of increasing transparency and trust in government by unanimously adopting legislation to provide guidance on King County’s use of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media programs.

“The use of social media is an easy and cost-effective way to keep the public informed, but we must be proactive to make sure they are being used in accordance with laws governing retention of public records,” said Council Chair Bob Ferguson, who sponsored the legislation.

“We have participated in a number of conferences regarding the use of social media as a way to stay in direct contact with constituents,” said Councilmember Kathy Lambert, Chair of the Government Accountability and Oversight Committee. “With this legislation, we are leading the way in establishing public policy on accessibility and transparency for the use of social media.”

A number of County agencies are using social media tools to stay in touch with the public, including the County Council, Metro Transit, and the Elections Department. The policies and procedures for the use of social media are determined by each agency, however, and there are currently no countywide guidelines.

The legislation adopted today requires the Executive to appoint a Social Media Advisory Group, which will develop a report on social media policy options and report back to the Council by March 31, 2011. The group will include representatives of the County’s Public Records Committee, the Office of Information Resource Management, Risk Management, and the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and experts in social media.

The adopted ordinance advances the Council’s priority of Trust in Government.  See the Council’s Priorities Scorecard at:
https://www.kingcounty.gov/council/issues/council_priorities.aspx.