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DHS Public Communications Policy Act

Full Title:
DHS CANDOR Act

Summary#

This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to adopt a single, department-wide policy for public-facing communications. The policy must set accuracy and neutrality standards, create review and training rules, control official social media accounts, and require oversight and audits. The broad goal is to improve the quality, legal compliance, and accountability of DHS public communications.

  • Main change: DHS must issue a department-wide public communications policy within 90 days that sets standards for accuracy, objectivity, and correction of errors.
  • Social media controls: Official accounts must be on approved platforms, run by designated managers, approved by the Office of Public Affairs, the Chief Information Officer, and the General Counsel, and archived when closed.
  • Personal accounts: DHS employees may not present personal views as Department positions, disclose non-public information, or misuse official titles/insignia on personal social media.
  • Training and reporting: Annual training and a post-training test are required for all DHS personnel; new public-facing communicators must be trained within 30 days of onboarding.
  • Oversight and audits: The Office of Public Affairs oversees social media; the DHS Inspector General must audit compliance within one year and report annually.
  • Legal compliance list: The policy must follow the Data Quality Act, the Hatch Act (limits on political activity by federal employees), FOIA and the Privacy Act, civil rights/civil liberties protections, and ethics rules.

What it means for you#

  • DHS employees who speak to the public or manage accounts

    • Must follow new department standards for accuracy and neutrality.
    • Must complete annual training and pass an assessment.
    • New public-facing staff must finish training within 30 days before doing public communications.
    • Personal social media use is limited when it could be seen as representing DHS (no presenting personal views as Department positions, no disclosure of non-public information, no misuse of titles or insignia).

  • Heads of DHS components (departments within DHS)

    • Can create component-specific policies, but those must align with the department policy and be reviewed by the Office of Public Affairs and the Office of the General Counsel before use.
    • Must set up procedures to report and fix suspected misuse of official or personal accounts.
    • Must track training completion and report rates to the Office of Public Affairs.

  • Office of Public Affairs, General Counsel, Chief Information Officer

    • Must approve new official social media accounts and establish pre-publication review procedures.
    • Must maintain a public list of all current DHS social media accounts.
    • Must ensure record retention follows DHS and National Archives rules.

  • Inspector General and Congress

    • The DHS Inspector General must audit compliance within one year and provide annual reports to Congress on misuse incidents, corrective actions, and trends.

  • Members of the public

    • May see more centralized control and possible corrections of DHS messages.
    • Will have access to a public list of DHS social media accounts.

Expenses#

No publicly available information about estimated costs is included in the bill text or materials provided.

  • The bill could increase DHS administrative costs for:
    • Developing and certifying the department-wide policy and component policies.
    • Annual and onboarding training programs and testing.
    • Staffing for account managers, review, and monitoring functions.
    • IT systems for archiving, account inventories, and platform approvals.
    • Inspector General audits and annual reporting.
  • The bill does not include specific funding, cost estimates, or offsets.

Proponents' View#

  • The bill appears intended to improve the accuracy, objectivity, and legal compliance of DHS public communications.
  • It could be seen as increasing accountability by centralizing oversight of official social media accounts and by requiring the Office of Public Affairs and General Counsel to review content and approve accounts.
  • Required training and record-keeping could reduce accidental disclosures of non-public information and ensure staff know legal limits (for example, on partisan political activity).
  • Inspector General audits and annual reports could help identify recurring problems and track corrective actions.

Opponents' View#

  • One concern is that central review and approval requirements could slow urgent public communications, including safety or emergency messages, if processes are not fast enough.
  • The bill does not fully define terms such as “misuse,” nor does it specify the detailed process or standards for disciplinary actions, which may create uncertainty about enforcement.
  • Centralized control over which platforms are “approved” could raise questions about how platforms are chosen and whether that limits outreach options.
  • The bill lacks a fiscal estimate and does not specify funding, so it is unclear how DHS would pay for training, staffing, archiving, and expanded oversight.
  • It is unclear how the policy will balance transparency and record-keeping requirements with operational needs for confidentiality in certain homeland security contexts.