Why Social Media Account Archiving is Critical for Open Records Compliance

Amidst an ever-increasing amount of misinformation, internet trolls, and open records requests, social media archiving has become an imperative for public entities and businesses.

As social media usage has increased, so have the different types of abuse, harassment, bullying, and defamation victims can face online. One of the most powerful tools to combat this growing trend is education, making it easier to handle situations that can suddenly materialize. This blog discusses the ten forms of social media bullying and harassment by offering concrete examples and insights into its many forms.

Since the beginning of social media, people from all over have been able to share their thoughts and ideas. The dark side of this revolutionary change is that not everyone has something kind to say, which makes protecting yourself against social media harassment critical. 

The internet has become a breeding ground for misinformation and disinformation. According to the Pew Research Center, Americans' exposure to––and belief in––misinformation differs by the specific news outlets and the general pathways they rely on. More specifically, people who rely on social media are more prone to consuming misinformation and disinformation. 

Any business that deals with sensitive information needs a document retention policy. Does your business have staff you keep records on, for example? If so, your business deals with sensitive information.

Building websites used to require a lot of time, knowledge, and manual coding. But with today's sophisticated content management systems (CMSs), building and managing a website is much easier. While customizing features may require technical know-how, the general rule is that most websites are built and powered by an intuitive and user-friendly CMS.  However, CMSs were not expressly designed for archiving data. Storing CMS data requires more than hitting save when updating a page. A CMS is not an archive system; your website data isn't necessarily automatically saved in versions—nor is the backup data easy to access. That means you may struggle to identify and access the backed-up data you want to access. Hence, it's best to have a system dedicated to archiving and backups.

Social media archiving is necessary for police and fire departments to comply with open record laws. It can also help facilitate crisis communication and foster organizational trust within the community.

Law enforcement agencies rely heavily on social media platforms for their public messaging.

As more of our personal and professional lives play out online and within digital spaces, it’s unsurprising to learn that an increasing amount of electronic evidence is being presented to the courts in relation to a wide number of legal cases. In fact, the worldwide Digital Forensics industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13% between 2020 to 2027.

Building trust with the general public is important for government agencies, and it is no easy task. Public information officers (PIOs) need to stay vigilant and ahead of the curve when it comes to social media use.