Recordkeeping, Privacy Concerns over Federal Use of Social Media
Social Media
Twenty-two out of 24 major federal agencies use social media, the General Accounting Office reported on July 22, 2010. This widespread adoption of social media by federal agencies raises complex recordkeeping and privacy issues.
According to Federal Computer Week, "Web 2.0 technologies, such as wikis and Facebook pages, present problems for federal records management and maintaining public access to information. Agencies may find it difficult to assess whether public comments on a wiki or a Facebook page are part of the official record and must be preserved, and how often the comments must be captured. This also contributes to problems in responding to Freedom of Information Act requests, especially with regard to social media sites run by third parties, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube."