Saying official communications belong in the public record is simple. Following through is far more complex. Just consider all the channels that today’s public agencies and government officials use. The sheer volume of data existing in platforms like MS Teams, Slack, and social media profiles has given compliance officers a lot to think about.
It also raises an important question for agencies: when should we archive vs delete?
Help is at hand when it comes to ensuring that you’re considering and reducing potential compliance issues. In this guide, we will discuss remote work compliance and how to host a safe telecommuting workspace.
The answer, for most government agencies, is to archive. It’s both a regulatory requirement and a safeguard in case of unexpected litigation. That said, there are also many instances where deletion is legally and ethically permissible.
This guide will help you decide when to archive vs. delete. It will also get you up to speed on how archiving supports compliance, what really counts as a “record”, and recordkeeping best practices.
Understanding Archival Regulations
FOIA and open records regulations require nearly all agencies to archive records for transparency and compliance. Data from websites, emails, social media accounts, and even DMs qualify as records, provided they concern official business or are on official accounts. Regulations at every level of government outline how to collect and present this data. Agencies that delete relevant material risk legal action, public backlash, or even penalties.
The National Archives and Records Administration Guidelines
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) defines what constitutes a federal record. Over multiple bulletins in the 2010s, it outlined recordkeeping guidelines for social media content, electronic messaging records, and more.
NARA expanded its guidance in the 2023 assessment to include new social media platforms like Reddit, Twitch, Snapchat, and even SoundCloud, reminding agencies that capturing complete records on these platforms is required. Agencies must also preserve each record’s context, structure, metadata, in a tamper-proof format to ensure its integrity.
The biggest exception in NARA’s definition of a “record” is personal materials. This is understood as any document that isn’t related to or doesn’t impact agency business. For example, an email sent from the head of a department to a family member. Any documents created before the official entered office also typically fall in this category.
Freedom of Information Act Guidelines
The Freedom of Information Act exists to give US citizens access to public information. It applies to all federal agencies, but most states are covered under similar open records laws. These laws require that emails, texts, and social media records must be archived and accessible. And failing to preserve this information means your agency is non-compliant and could leave you exposed.
However, recently there was a supreme court ruling on whether or not public official’s personal social media accounts are considered public records. Under The First Amendment (protecting freedom of speech) the supreme court ruled that government officials and agencies cannot block users or delete records from their pages, and are prohibited from censoring public comments or blocking users from accounts that offer official government communications.
Industry-specific Guidelines
Proper archival practices are not just for government officials. Highly-regulated industries like healthcare or finance, are bound by similar laws.
The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), for instance, both mandate recordkeeping. Multiple data protection laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also require agencies to preserve records as a best practice.
Archiving can be a complicated process, especially when you consider the variety of records and overlapping regulations. Most agencies prefer working with an archiving solution like Pagefreezer to maintain complete records for compliance.
What Records Cannot Be Requested Under FOIA?
There are many cases in which a government or public agency isn’t required to produce records. This material isn’t considered a public record and may contain sensitive information protected under privacy laws. The list includes:
- Law enforcement documents.
- Medical and veterinary case documents. Especially those that contain Personal Health Information, protected under the HIPAA.
- Confidential cases, especially those involving the federal government.
- Personal information, including social security numbers, bank info, and more.
A point to note is that this is not a list of material that can be deleted. It is material that cannot be requested under FOIA. It may still need archiving, depending on the agency or company policy. It is also not an exhaustive list.
What Social Media Publications Can Be Deleted?
To settle the debate of whether to archive vs delete social media publications, agencies need to consider factors like the significance of the document, its relevance to the public, as well as any potential future utility.
The law is clear about what must be maintained for posterity. It also offers some guidance about what materials do not count as official records, and may be discarded. Here are some materials considered unofficial records by bodies like the Minnesota Department of Administration, and Maine Department of the Secretary of State.
- Posts that describe basic processes without making policy decisions, or engaging the public in meaningful ways.
- Redundant records generated during manual social media archiving. Only the primary version needs to be retained.
- Data that is transitory and doesn’t have any long-term value. This could include exchanges between colleagues, or brief clarifications about informal processes.
- Documents that are personal in nature, and not related to official business may be deleted. This includes personal, non-government related exchanges on non-official accounts.
Understanding whether to archive vs delete social media publications requires expertise. Many agencies set up dedicated teams to ensure compliance with legislation and records requests. Having policies in place also goes a long way in making sure the appropriate records are archived or deleted as needed.
Archive Vs Delete: Best Practices For Agencies
Archiving ensures accountability and transparency, core responsibilities for any government agency. But it’s a task many struggle with, especially when it comes to maintaining electronic records.
Agencies must first determine whether material must be archived vs deleted. Then they must ensure all data is captured and retained in the required format, with the necessary metadata. These technical requirements make it particularly hard for agencies to capture complete records, as well as ensure their authenticity and accessibility.
These best practices can help:
1. Only use official accounts for communication
One way to solve the issue is to reduce the burden. For many individuals, it is incredibly difficult to keep track of all interactions, comments, likes, and posts. Government officials can streamline their work by only reducing the number of official accounts they use. Keep private accounts separate and make sure there are policies in place to stop officials from acting as a representative of the agency on their personal accounts. Officials who conduct work on their personal devices must also have a mobile device management application installed to make sure all official business and records are captured.
2. Store data in context, in the original formats
All regulated sectors are bound by strict requirements for capturing and storing data. Many incorrectly believe that screenshots from a Content Management System are acceptable records. But this is not the case.
All files must be stored with all the original metadata and in the original formatting. This is to ensure that the record can prove when the material was posted, by whom, and within which context. JPEGs created from screenshots usually do not come with this information.
3. Familiarize yourself with open records laws
Open records requests are often not top of the mind until they happen. The FOIA and state-level open records requirements can come with steep penalties, investigations, and even sanctions for non-compliance, and are clear about what records must be maintained.
They also dictate how long records must be kept in each specific case, and require that requests be met in a timely fashion. For agencies, this means working with a tool that allows you to easily find and export records on-demand. Failure to respond within the required time frames can lead to civil lawsuits, court involvement, fines, negative media coverage, and sanctions.
And remember: The First Amendment also requires that agencies do not delete comments, modify posts, or block users, which means social media records need to be captured immediately or in real-time before they are edited or deleted.
4. Use automated archiving tools
Manually archiving every interaction across multiple platforms is not feasible for agencies that frequently engage with the public. Instead, use an automated archiving tool, like Pagefreezer, that is built for social media and digital records archiving. These tools capture posts, edits, comments, replies, and deletions in real time. They ensure compliance while reducing staff workload and risk of non-compliance.
5. Train staff on recordkeeping responsibilities
Recordkeeping expertise is often limited to dedicated teams, but every member of the organization who communicates with the public must understand what qualifies as a record and how to preserve it. They must also be trained on how materials are preserved as well as the risks associated with premature deletion.
6. Establish clear social media recordkeeping policies
All citizen interactions with agencies on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram are public records. Agencies must have clear, documented policies on what constitutes a record, how long content must be retained, and when, if ever, deletion is appropriate. Real-time capture and archiving tools like Pagefreezer can preserve content, as well as deleted or edited interactions.
The National Archives and Records Administration has published a white paper detailing the best practices for capture of social media records in more detail. This guide can, meanwhile, help you understand how to maintain a website archive. Understanding when to archive vs delete based on these guidelines is essential for government agencies to ensure compliance.
Why Agencies Prefer Working with Pagefreezer
Pagefreezer is a tool that helps agencies keep secure, compliant, accurate, and accessible records from all their digital platforms like social media, websites, and even internal chat platforms like MS Teams.
The software automates the process of archiving websites, social media, mobile text messages, and more, ensuring the data is collected in the right format and is easy to access and export any time it’s needed. As a result, it simplifies compliance, reduces workload, improves litigation readiness, and can even help public agencies improve response times and transparency to build trust with the public.
Pagefreezer helps federal agencies comply with NARA’s electronic records management requirements, including metadata preservation, defensible records, and long-term accessibility. While NARA does not formally endorse specific vendors, Pagefreezer is listed on their official social media guidance documentation software list as a provider on Appendix F - Page 5, and is trusted by hundreds of government agencies, including NARA itself.
