The internet and social media offer excellent opportunities to showcase one’s work to a wide audience and engage with users. Anyone who uses digital platforms as an SBC employee inevitably exposes themselves, as their private and professional activities become intertwined in the eyes of other users. It makes no difference how many followers an account has, or whether it is private. If employees working in editorial or journalistic roles give the impression in their posts that they are biased on a particular issue, they raise doubts about the independence and impartiality of SBC reporting and thus jeopardise the SBC’s editorial independence.

Depending on their role at SBC (two circles, see below), employees and managers have an increased duty of care when it comes to their activities in the digital space. The following questions need to be considered: What is an expression of my personality vs. what makes me dependent or vulnerable? Where does my personal enthusiasm end and advertising or even partisanship begin? When am I part of an ideological campaign?

Anyone at SBC who has influence over journalistic content must maintain a critical distance. SBC’s journalistic principles also apply to private social media activities. This applies in particular to any groups whose demands are fundamentally political, economic or social in nature. In particular, election and voting recommendations are not permitted.

Particular restraint is required in one’s own journalistic field, be it in the areas of news and current affairs, culture, sport or entertainment.

The more influence employees have on SBC’s journalistic output, the more explicitly the principles described above apply.

We therefore distinguish between two groups of employees:

Group 1 – Employees and managers who have any form of influence on the content, design and/or presentation of SBC’s editorial output. This also includes all employees and managers who represent the organisation in public, in particular members of the Executive Board and company spokespersons.

Group 2 – All other employees and managers who have no influence on SBC’s editorial output and are not perceived by the public as representing SBC.

For Group 1, the above principles and restrictions for private activities on the internet apply in full.
The restrictions do not apply to employees in Group 2. However, as SBC employees, they are aware that they are perceived as part of the company and that their activities may therefore be associated with the SBC. They are aware of the importance of editorial independence and may voluntarily adhere to the principles of diligence and critical distance set out above.