The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has voted to consider legislation that could restrict a federal employee’s ability to access personal accounts on Facebook, Gmail or other platforms.
The Federal Information Systems Safeguards Act of 2016, HR-4361, was introduced by Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., in January and aims to shield agency management from having to negotiate with federal employee unions when putting in place Internet usage restrictions.
In particular the bill aims to circumvent a 2014 Federal Labor Relations Authority Ruling that agencies lack “sole and exclusive discretion” over IT systems including computers and networks.
Unions have maintained that usage of those assets is a negotiated right, while Palmer and the measure’s co-sponsor, Rep. Jason Chafetz, R-Utah, maintain that failing to control what federal employees access online over agency networks is an information security risk.