Helping Government Agencies Comply with the New OPEN Data Act

The United States’ Open, Public, Electronic, and Necessary (OPEN) Government Data Act was signed into law on January 14, 2019. This landmark piece of legislation means that government departments and agencies must comply with a new set of rules that facilitate open access to information.

Ensuring that federal agencies comply with The Federal Records Act, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) acts as the nation’s record-keeper to ensure official federal records are preserved for increased public access.

Following up on the misuse of Facebook information by Cambridge Analytica , Facebook recently announced revisions to the way it handles data access, and third party apps interacting with its platform. In its newsroom release early this April, Facebook states the exact changes impacting third party access to user datasets for both Facebook and Instagram. Read more here.

Snapchat was arguably the first social media player to introduce the use of temporary/short-lived or "story" content. When others like Instagram and Facebook picked up on the tactic, it quickly became the new trend in the marketing sphere, boasting the highest engagement rates of all social content. But marketers may be missing a very important piece of the puzzle when using this tactic, that could put them in trouble with the law. Before we get to it, let’s learn a little more about what temporary online content is and some behaviours that brought it to popularity:

For legal and recordkeeping compliance, understanding and capturing metadata of your organization's online presence is essential.

PageFreezer has released a new solution enabling government agencies to provide public access to their web and social media archives. Historic government website and social media data can now be made easily accessible through a public portal with powerful search capabilities.

As federal, state, and local government websites and social media are heavily relied on by citizens and businesses for a wealth of information, these communications are considered official government publications to which the Freedom of Information act (FOIA) and Open Records Laws apply. Demanding transparency, complying with these laws can cost governments thousands a year, at an average of $678 per information request (1).

Do you trust your government? The heart of democracy, "by the people, for the people", requires that government be accountable to it citizens. And, if there is no trust there, how can democracy flourish?

"In 2003, California resident Vee Vinhnee filed for bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. He owed American Express more than $40,000 on his credit cards. American Express (Amex) sued Vinhnee to recover the balances owed on the cards. In Vinhnee vs. American Express Travel Related Services Company Inc., Vinhnee won his case without a lawyer and without appearing in court" .