The government has refused to publish the official Social Media Code which should regulate Facebook use by ministers.

Lovin Malta filed a request under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act to be granted a copy of the Social Media Code.

But the request was refused by the Principal Perma on the grounds that this is a Cabinet document and is therefore exempt from FOI rules.

Two months ago, the Standards Commissioner reported “widespread misuse of public resources” by ministers on social media.

In his report, the Commissioner proposed his own guidelines on how social media use should be regulated and he held a meeting with two government officials who explained how they would be updating the code of ethics.

However, despite several requests by Lovin Malta, this official Code has remained shrouded in secrecy.

Lovin Malta appealed the FOI decision, arguing that the Code must be made public in order for the media and taxpayers to hold ministers and parliamentary secretaries to account.

Meanwhile, more than 4,200 people have signed a Lovin Malta petition calling for the publication of this document. The petition also calls for ministers to refund any taxpayer money they used on their personal Facebook pages.

At least €1.2 million of public funds were used on Facebook boosts between 2013 and 2017, according to public records.

Visit www.kaxxaturi.com to donate to the campaign and sign the petition