Facebook ban for Birmingham City Council workers

Jan 20 2009 by Ben Hurst, Birmingham Mail

The password of one unidentified worker was used to clock up 26,440 minutes of browsing time during September last year – equivalent to more than 100 hours a week.

Birmingham is the latest public authority to restrict access to social networking sites – or “social notworking” sites as they have been nicknamed. Several senior officials have their own Facebook accounts, including corporate governance director Mirza Ahmad.

Mr Ahmad has posted a picture of himself receiving the Public Sector Excellence Awards in the Muslim Power 100 survey. He also uses his Facebook page to publish a fulsome appreciation of SAY Arts director Abid Iqbal. Mr Ahmad is videoed, with the council logo in the background, paying tribute to Mr Iqbal as a “great role model” in the Asian community.

The council’s director of communications, Debra Davis, has her own Facebook page as does corporate website officer Simon Gray.

A Birmingham City Council Facebook group has 18 members, while a rival I Hate Birmingham City Council group boasts 13 members.

The blocking of social networking sites could lead to other websites being banned, according to a report to the audit committee. And hundreds of officials with BlackBerry phones will not escape the ban.

New IT surveillance equipment is being used to detect browsing on BlackBerries “to ensure compliance with city council policies, according to the survey”