Lost your Password?
Click Here
Don't have an account?
Register Here
Welcome to the EuroPris Knowledge Management System. The table below shows questions and responses from European National Agencies. Select a question for more information or use the filters on the left to narrow down questions based on Agency or Category.
Want to ask a question? Please read our guidance information found here: Submitting a KMS Question
← Back Search KMSThis content is only available to registered members of EuroPris.
Introduction: We are currently reviewing how we interact with social media companies and are interested in how other governments deal with social media content posted by or on behalf of prisoners, particularly how you interact with the social media companies themselves.
Although the use of social media is not regulated by Act II of 2012 on offences, the procedure in relation to offences and the offence record system, it is prohibited in every institution and is regarded as a disciplinary offence. The perpetrator of the offence will be subjected to disciplinary proceedings. Prisoners do not possess access of any sort to social media. Owning and using devices which may provide access for them is prohibited.
Do you proactively look for content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?n.a.
Do you attempt to remove content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?n.a.
Do you have existing relationships or protocols with any social media companies (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc)?n.a.
If you do not currently attempt to remove prisoner social media content, do you foresee a need to do this in the future?n.a.
No, it’s only forbidden. A filter/firewall detects If inmates try to access, and in these cases they are admonished with the temporary ban on the use of ICT classrooms.
Do you proactively look for content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?No.
Do you attempt to remove content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?No.
Do you have existing relationships or protocols with any social media companies (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc)?No.
If you do not currently attempt to remove prisoner social media content, do you foresee a need to do this in the future?No.
Inmates are not allowed to access/use social media in the Belgian prisons. In fact, they are not allowed to access the internet except when using the services that the Belgian Prison Service provides (library, PrisonCloud, …). Regarding authorized access to the internet, we use a whitelist and an extra firewall. The inmate can only access those websites that are authorized by the Director General or by Regional Director of the Belgian Prison Service. If an inmate uses the internet when it’s not allowed, the governor of the prison can prohibit internet access to the inmate.
Do you proactively look for content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?The Belgian Prison Service does not proactively look for content or profiles on the internet. If a staff member believes that an illegal access has been made, he/she informs the prison governor and/or the management of the department in order to take action.
Do you attempt to remove content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?No, the Belgian Prison Service does not attempt to remove content or profiles. But, of course, if the content is illegal, we launch a legal action against the inmate.
Do you have existing relationships or protocols with any social media companies (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc)?No, the Belgian Prison Service does not have existing relationships or protocols with social media companies at the moment.
If you do not currently attempt to remove prisoner social media content, do you foresee a need to do this in the future?In the future, it would definitely be an advantage to have a team of people responsible for looking for inmate profiles in social media. Unfortunately, the Belgian Prison Service does not have the resources available to do this at the moment. That is why during the training of new staff members, we currently inform all of them on inmate social media issues and instruct them to pay attention and inform the prison governor when they see an inmate profile.
It is a breach of Prison Rules to have a device through which social media could be accessed.
Do you proactively look for content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?No
Do you attempt to remove content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?No
Do you have existing relationships or protocols with any social media companies (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc)?No
If you do not currently attempt to remove prisoner social media content, do you foresee a need to do this in the future?No
Inmates in Norwegian prisons do not have access to the internet. This applies both for inmates serving in prisons with high and low security. The only exception is inmates who are attending school whilst incarcerated, they may have a limited access to the internet for education purposes. If an inmate contrary to expectations should succeed in accessing social media whilst in prison, this is not a criminal offence per se (it is not covered in the statutory framework). It may, however, be taken into account when for instance the inmate applies for leave or parole.
Do you proactively look for content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?No
Do you attempt to remove content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?If the content is in breach of the Penal Code (threats , conspiracy to commit crime etc) or includes information about security matters we will attempt to get in removed.
Do you have existing relationships or protocols with any social media companies (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc)?No
If you do not currently attempt to remove prisoner social media content, do you foresee a need to do this in the future?No
In Slovenia it is not a criminal offence to use social media in prisons. It is however a crime if prisoners perform any type of offence with the use of social media.
Do you proactively look for content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?We do not look proactively for any activity of prisoners on the internet. The use of social media especially in close and semi-open unites of our prison system is very limited. The conditions of use of social media are prescribed in internal acts and prison’s house rules.
Do you attempt to remove content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?In the past there were some cases of prisoners who put for example their photos on the internet, but we do not have any legal basis to remove them.
Do you have existing relationships or protocols with any social media companies (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc)?No. We have neither relationship neither protocols with any social media companies.
If you do not currently attempt to remove prisoner social media content, do you foresee a need to do this in the future?We do not have any plan to take steps in the direction of removing prison social media content in the near future.
Prisoner can't access social media in prison, as use of portable devices for communication is not allowed. Possession and/or use of portable device for communication by a prisoner is more severe disciplinary offence described by the Law on the Enforcement of the Prison Sentence. If a prisoner commits disciplinary offence by possessing and using portable device for communication and in such way access social media, it would not be a criminal offence, unless his behaviour/writings on the social media would represent criminal offence on its own (for. example – making a serious threat to somebody).
Do you proactively look for content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?No
Do you attempt to remove content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?No
Do you have existing relationships or protocols with any social media companies (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc)?No
If you do not currently attempt to remove prisoner social media content, do you foresee a need to do this in the future?No
No
Do you proactively look for content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?No
Do you attempt to remove content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?No
Do you have existing relationships or protocols with any social media companies (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc)?No
If you do not currently attempt to remove prisoner social media content, do you foresee a need to do this in the future?Yes
Currently there is no normative act in force according with which it is set that a place of imprisonment has the duty to provide internet access to its inmates. Also there are no normative acts that denotes that an inmate has the right to use internet services while in a place of imprisonment. Thus, inmates do not have access to social media. According with Regulations No.423 of Cabinet of Ministers of May 30, 2006 “Internal Rules of Penitentiary Institution” inmates are not allowed to use mobile or data devices. If a device (with or without internet connection) is found with an inmate, the device is confiscated and any punishment from the Law On The Sentence Execution Code of Latvia can be used, including being placed in an isolation cell for up to 15 days as this is considered a serious offence.
Do you proactively look for content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?Yes, but not with a certain goal/target in mind.
Do you attempt to remove content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?No.
Do you have existing relationships or protocols with any social media companies (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc)?No.
If you do not currently attempt to remove prisoner social media content, do you foresee a need to do this in the future?No.
Yes. If the prisoner uses a computer against the permit conditions, it is considered a disciplinary infraction. Disciplinary punishments include warning, loss of rights and solitary confinement. The punishment will depend on the severity of the infraction. In these cases, the punishment is usually losing the right to use the computer.
Do you proactively look for content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?Not proactively.
Do you attempt to remove content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?No.
Do you have existing relationships or protocols with any social media companies (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc)?No.
If you do not currently attempt to remove prisoner social media content, do you foresee a need to do this in the future?At the moment it is not necessary.
This content is only available to registered members of EuroPris.
• Use of social media by prisoners is not regulated by law and as such it is not a criminal offence. • Our organisation regulates contact by prisoners with the outside world to prevent, amongst other things, continuation of criminal behaviour and unwanted contact with victims. Regarding the use of social media, DJI has formulated policy guidelines for the use of internet by prisoners. As a result, internet access is strictly regulated through whitelisting. Social media are not included on the whitelist. • If a prisoner abuses his computer privileges this is considered to be unacceptable behaviour and treated accordingly. Depending on the severity, a variety of measures may be taken, ranging from a revocation of computer privileges to solitary confinement. • During the process of reintegration some prisoners may be allowed to go home during the weekends. During such periods we do not attempt to restrict the use of social media. However if unacceptable behaviour is observed appropriate measures will be taken upon their return.
Do you proactively look for content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?No, there is no policy to proactively monitor this. In the past a few cases of such violations have been noticed or reported. These cases have been investigated and appropriate steps have been taken.
Do you attempt to remove content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?Only if it affects our organisation directly and severely, such as issues for security within the prison, the privacy of employees and similar issues. If we take action to have content removed, our Security Operations Centre sends a formal takedown notice to the owner of the website. If required, we request the assistance of the National Cyber Security Centre.
Do you have existing relationships or protocols with any social media companies (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc)?No. Because of the policy guidelines for the use of internet by prisoners, social media media are excluded and only a few incidents have taken place. Subsequently, no relationships or protocols with social media companies are required. For now we deal with this on a case to case basis.
If you do not currently attempt to remove prisoner social media content, do you foresee a need to do this in the future?For a successful return into society, maintaining or restoring contact with family and friends is very important. Regulated and guided use of facilities such as video conferencing and social media are being considered for this purpose. Therefore in the future we foresee an increased (regulated and guided) use of social media. The policy guidelines for internet use by prisoners have been written with these developments in mind.
This content is only available to registered members of EuroPris.
For the inmates in the Danish prisons it is no criminal offence to access Social Media. However, there are restrictions to inmates’ access to the Internet, and in case of breach to the restrictions, sanctions are made. In the closed prisons, including custody centres, the inmates can be allowed to access the Internet through a secured network, from where a limited access is given. This limitation contains access to around 500 specific web pages selected under consideration of educational needs and democratic rights to access general information, and do not include access to Social Media. In open prisons the inmates can be allowed to access to the Internet in classrooms and in Internet cafés. During school time, specific web pages are blocked by local defined firewalls. As a rule, Social Media is included. However, access can be given, in regard of educational purpose. From the Internet cafés enlarged access is given through a local defined firewall. The local defined firewalls include Social Media. These cafés can be used in the inmates’ leisure. If an inmate breaches the restrictions, a local evaluation will be made. The inmate will get sanctionied according to this evaluation, and the permition to access the Internet will be withdrawn for a certain period.
Do you proactively look for content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?Concerning this element there is no general practice in the Danish Prison and Probation Service.
Do you attempt to remove content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?Concerning this element there is no general practice in the Danish Prison and Probation Service.
Do you have existing relationships or protocols with any social media companies (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc)?Concerning this element there is no general practice in the Danish Prison and Probation Service.
If you do not currently attempt to remove prisoner social media content, do you foresee a need to do this in the future?Concerning this element there is no general practice in the Danish Prison and Probation Service. However, the Danish Prison and Probation Service will be following the development on the area.
It is a regulatory violation which can lead to a disciplinary sanction with partial or total withdrawal of the credit to reduce the sentence. Moreover, there is no installation to permit to a detainee to connect to an internet network.
Do you proactively look for content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?Not applicable.
Do you attempt to remove content/profiles posted by prisoners on the internet?Not applicable.
Do you have existing relationships or protocols with any social media companies (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc)?Not applicable.
If you do not currently attempt to remove prisoner social media content, do you foresee a need to do this in the future?Not applicable.