People want to influence information, which can be either benevolent or malevolent. Advertising and education aim to shape human behavior, for instance, encouraging healthier lifestyles and increased food consumption. Traditional media no longer holds a monopoly on communication; instead, the internet and social media enable widespread dissemination to anyone.

1) The ruling of IT Services on social media and instant messaging services when using equipment provided by Metropolia

Below is a list of social media applications prohibited by IT Services, which should not be downloaded onto devices provided by the university. If an application is not mentioned in the list, it can be downloaded from the official app store for personal use. Additionally, the use of Chinese and Russian software and services on university community devices is excluded without specific work-related justifications. Redirect your justification to the IT administration, which will determine whether the application can be used within the university environment. Only download approved applications from the device’s official app store, such as Google Play Store for Android phones and the App Store for iPhones.

Banned apps to use in the university’s devices.

• The use of TikTok is guided by the separate TikTok policy determined by IT Service.
• The Chinese company Tencent owns the application.

Use is allowed but requires discretion when used for work-related matters.

• Facebook Messenger
• Whatsapp
• Discord
• Vk
• Telegram 

2) Are social medias safe?

Social media is a goldmine for scammers and identity thieves because people add their personal information to services, which makes the work for scammers much easier. More open information sharing has enabled cybercriminals and state actors to find novel ways to pry into people's lives. For example, Social Search allows to anyone to look people from different social medias. As a result, social media services are subject to many security threats. Social media spying often precedes a cyberattack. Below, has been listed some news on various methods used for spying on social media.  

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Think carefully what information you can share about yourself or Metropolia on social media sites.

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3) The official social media accounts of Metropolia University of Applied Science

If you want to create a social media account for projects, departments, innovation hubs or school branches, please contact Communications and Marketing (CM). CM will assist with you on how to communicate with wanted stakeholders and target groups. Afterward, familiarize yourself with a comprehensive guideline for using social media responsibly, ensuring safe communication regarding university matters, while safeguarding Metropolia’s reputation. When wishing to utilize Metropolia’s official social media accounts, kindly reach out to CM, the primary department responsible for administering these accounts.

4. Secure data processing - Metropolia staff and students

The same data storage and processing guidelines apply to all social media channels. Only public material may be stored and / or published in the services.

Note! Copyright must be taken into account in all publications. Copyright means the author's initial exclusive right to decide on the use of his work. Meaning others do not have the right to use the work without the author's permission.

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5) Policies and principles to use social media in Metropolia University of Applied Science

Activities before setting a social media account in Metropolia

• Get acquainted with the principles and policies on social media that the university has in effect.
• When interacting in a social media, you must follow the communication principles of Communication Services and the university’s information classification practices.
• Metropolia aims to have a strong presence on social media, produce diverse and topical content for its followers and to strengthen its role as an influencer by having a responsible dialogue with other operators.
• Publishing content on a social media is encouraged at Metropolia. In other words, you can create a social media account for the projectprojects, the departmentdepartments, the unit innovation hubs and the school units schools to improve visibility and communication with stakeholders.
• If you use a different account for communication than Metropolia University of Applied Sciences’ official social media channels, please first contact the Communication and Marketing department. The previously said department primarily handles how information about the university is shared with the public and whether it is advisable to create a separate account. For more detailed information about the university’s official social media accounts, see section three.
• However, the employee or the student can’t use their personal credential on social media. You are prohibited from registering on a social media service using your school account, such as your school email address for the registration process.IT Services will create a separate user account and an email, for example, a company or organizational email address, on the purposes of the registration process
• Request a shared email address from the Helpdesk for setting up and managing a social media account. The shared email address is not your personal email address, so other individuals with access to the same shared email inbox can also reset the password. You can also use an existing shared email address, such as one related to your project, if you find it suitable for the purpose.
• To obtain a new user account, an employee must make a service request to HelpDesk Services on the service request system of the university.
• The manager of the employee defines, who or whom the employees are responsible for the social media account of the project, the department, the unit innovation hubs and the school unitsschools. Besides the former, the superior must determine a device or devices, which are used in communication purposes on a social media.
• If social media duties are part of an employee's work, the employee is responsible for the safety and appropriate use of the social media account.

Communicating in social media and its correct use

• When signing in a social media service, it is mandatory to check the social media’s usage policies, such as whether an organization email address can be utilized similarly to a natural person’s email address for a sign-in. Typically, organizations can use their own emails, when using the services of the social media. Still, it It is customary to mention, for instance, on the user profile that this account belongs to an official organization and the reasons why the account has been created. Then other users know that this account belongs to the Metropolia university.
• Follow the rules set by the social media provider, because otherwise the account may be banned.
• Download the social media application from the official app store of your device. The accepted social media and instant messaging apps you can find at first section, mentioned above.
• When logging in, enter the organization email account you received. Provide your own name, the username you defined, and a password for the service. Do not use the same password that you use for Metropolia’s IT services or elsewhere; instead, create a unique password for this account.
• As the social media account in not needed anymore, the account must be disabled. Besides, the employee who is responsible for the social media account, must inform IT Services that the user account of the university is also redundant. Following the announcement, the IT Services removes and disables the organizational account of the university.
• When interacting in a social media, you must follow the communication principles of Communication Services and the university’s information classification practices.

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• It is customary to mention, for instance, on the user profile that this account belongs to an official organization and the reasons why the account has been created. Then other users know that this account belongs to the Metropolia University of Applied Science.

Deleting a social media account when it is unneeded anymore 

• When a social media account is no longer needed, it must be deactivated on the social media service.
• An employee informs IT Services that the validity of the social media account has ended and that the email address created for the account is no longer necessary. Subsequently, the IT Services deletes the provided email address.

6. Secure management of personal social media account

• Currently, social media companies have enhanced the security of their products and services by implementing features such as multifactor authentication, saving logins on devices, and providing information about active login sessions.  Here are instructions to set a multi-factor authentication on:
  
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • X (previously Twitter)
  • LinkedIn
• Your social media service provider does not usually guarantee the retention of data on your service, so make sure you have copies of the data transferred to the service elsewhere.
• Please review the settings that affect the privacy of your user profile and update them as necessary. You can also restrict your notification’s visibility from the settings of the device and the user account.
• It is better to remove little-used or “forgotten” social media accounts than to leave them unused. Unused accounts pose a security risk.

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7. Checklist for social media

• Use common sense, do not disclose any personal information about anyone. At worst, an outside party can exploit the information in scam attempts.
• Do not use the same password for social media services as for Metropolia's own services.
• Contacts from new people must always be treated with caution. It’s easy to impersonate another person on social media services.
• Malware spreads on social media in the same way as email. All messages containing links must be treated with caution.
• Respect other users’ right for their privacy. Do not take pictures from other without their consent to do so. Privacy protection is a constitutional right in modern times.
• When encountering inappropriate behaviour online, report it to the system maintenance of the social media provider. The system administrators will remove the ill-suited users and investigate whether an information security incident has been occurred.   
• If your privacy rights have been violated, file the crime to the police.

5. Secure data processing - Metropolia staff and students

The same data storage and processing guidelines apply to all social media channels. Only public material may be stored and / or published in the services.

Note! Copyright must be taken into account in all publications. Copyright means the author's initial exclusive right to decide on the use of his work. Meaning others do not have the right to use the work without the author's permission.

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Instruction in Finnish: Fiksusti sosiaalisessa mediassa