Brief Ten: Freedom of Information Act

-

 How is Social Media Impacted by FOIA?

The Freedom of Information Act was enacted in 1967 and "gives citizens access to public information held by federal agencies." And even though it's been 55 years since FOIA was established, it has adapted over time to "capture advanced technology". 

This "advanced technology" in question is social media. Of course, it's not a surprise to say that social media has completely changed the way we communicate and receive our information, which applies to FOIA and our government. 

Because governments are now active on social media, they must be careful to abide by FOIA's guidelines within the content they post. Public business, meetings, correspondence, etc are all examples of postings on government social media and websites, which are now considered a public record according to FOIA. 


Government agencies, federal and state, are required "to retain and produce electronic records", accessible to the public. 

This is where social media comes into play, any government social media platforms, activity, or postings must be "preserved and protected under FOIA".

Since agencies must treat government-related social media postings as a public record, they must closely monitor their social media platforms and the unpredictable nature of the platforms as well. 

These laws regarding public record availability and government transparency, have definitely created new difficulties for governments to "capture and preserve" records posted on social media, accurately. 

Bega.dc.gov goes into depth about the key elements of a social media policy within FOIA: 

  • Any content posted by a federal or state government on social media is considered a public record
  •  Government's social media accounts must have content that is in "accordance with applicable retention requirements"
  • Encouraged to post copies rather than the original public records on social media to avoid "retention problems"
Anything related to the public business of a government agency is available to the public, which means American citizens are entitled to any Tweets, Instagram posts, and Youtube videos posted by a public figure or organization within a federal or state government. 


Social media platforms such as these include:

Social media now carries the weight of FOIA and the importance of keeping a transparent relationship between the government and the citizens of America. The Freedom of Information Act is absolutely necessary for today's growing social media and online platforms and is essential to protect our government as well as the rights of American citizens and their right to access public information released by the government.


Comments

Post a Comment