Patna: The government of Bihar has introduced new and stricter rules to control how its employees use social media. Under the ‘Bihar Government Servants Conduct Rules, 2026’, government staff are no longer allowed to post anything online that criticises government policies, schemes or official decisions. The order applies to popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram and X, and is expected to affect millions of employees across the state. Officials say the move is meant to ensure discipline and maintain a neutral public image of government workers.
According to the new guidelines, employees must take permission before posting anything related to government matters. They are also not allowed to comment on decisions made by courts, including the Supreme Court of India or high courts. If any employee is found breaking these rules, strict departmental action will be taken. This means that even personal opinions shared online could lead to serious consequences if they are seen as violating the code of conduct.
The government has also placed special focus on profile pictures, often known as display pictures or DPs. Employees are not allowed to use any image that shows protest symbols, such as black bands, or anything related to political parties. The aim, officials say, is to ensure that government employees appear unbiased and do not show support for any political group through their online presence.
Apart from this, the rules clearly ban online behaviour such as trolling, abusive language or harassment. However, employees can still post about government schemes if they have official approval to do so. Overall, the new order means that government employees in Bihar will have to be much more careful about what they share online, as their freedom to express personal views on social media is now more limited than before.
