Be aware: Use of social media and free speech

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christopher Reel
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Rants about work and people, check-ins at restaurants or bars, and photos from parties last weekend, are all commonly seen on social media outlets.

There are currently more than 955 million monthly active users on Facebook worldwide and approximately 552 million daily users.

Approximately 81 percent of monthly active Facebook users are outside the United States and Canada.

YouTube is another widely used social media tool. More than 3 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube and 70 percent of YouTube traffic comes from outside the U.S. In 2011, YouTube had more than 1 trillion views.

Social media outlets are heavily used and can be accessed by anyone, any given time and anywhere around the world through the use of personal and work computers, cell phones, and tablets.

These outlets are cyber billboards for personal information. Once created, and even though deleted, the information posted is permanent.

Though 'friends' may find rants about a long day at work entertaining, or how awful the boss is, it is important to remember as members of the military, that in the office and out of the office you are still on duty.

"The First Amendment guarantees that we all have the right to free speech, but as military members, our rights are limited to a certain extent," said Capt. Margaret Loiselle, 325th Fighter Wing assistant staff judge advocate. "As members of the military, we can't make any statements, Facebook or otherwise, that would imperil our unit or our mission."

The Uniform Code of Military Justice includes criminal charges against a service member for various offenses, which are spelled out in UCMJ Article 88:

"Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court martial may direct."

Air Force Instruction 51-902, Political Activities by Members of the U.S. Air Force, expands this restriction beyond just officers by stating that all "Air Force members" may not use such speech.

Instances of free speech conflicts will continue, largely because of the ease of access to blogs, Twitter, and smart phones that make it easy to instantly update Facebook pages and other social media forums - even from a deployed combat zone.

It is important not to discuss information that could endanger the mission. Posts on Facebook will link with your location if you do not adjust the settings. This is potentially hazardous, especially while posting information while in a deployment theatre.

"As members of the U.S. Armed Forces we are to be mindful of what we post," added Captain Loiselle. "On or off duty, the appearance of the uniform is always there."