Social Media Posts by Civil Servants and the Risk of Disciplinary Action

Attorney Özer Alişan Ekren addressed the issue of whether social media posts by civil servants can be subject to disciplinary investigations from a legal perspective. Ekren stated that the protection of civil servants' freedom of expression must be evaluated in conjunction with the political neutrality and disciplinary obligations imposed by the Civil Servants Law No. 657.

Ekren emphasized that in disciplinary investigations, the content and context of the post must be examined for compliance with the definitions of disciplinary offenses in the law. Drawing attention to the obligation of political neutrality under Articles 7 and 125/D-o of Law No. 657, the legal expert stated that the administration must justify whether the post constitutes political propaganda and its impact on public service when imposing penalties.

Citing the Constitutional Court's rulings in the cases of Sinan Akbulut (2019/1396) and Ramazan Kavak (2017/20729) as precedents, Ekren argued that disciplinary authority must be exercised proportionately with freedom of expression. Furthermore, with reference to the Lale Çalıkoğlu (2018/36354) ruling, it was stated that investigations should be based on the original content of the posts without distortion.

According to the Public Officials Ethics Board's principle decision No. 2021/81, it was recalled that while civil servants may express opinions on their areas of expertise, their authority to make statements on behalf of their institution is limited.