Sunshine Week has recently given light to the Americans’ access to public information to protect democracy in the US. It is the Sunshine Week’s objective to ensure that the government employees are transparent in their speeches, proclamations, and performances through open records laws.
Many public agencies seek to comply with the Sunshine archiving laws, though most are still facing difficulties due to inadequate funding for additional personnel and a lack of a modern archiving solution. Government agencies need additional employees and the right technology to handle request intakes, gather documents, apply redactions, make copies, and manage deliveries while complying with a strict deadline.
Because text messaging has become one of the standard ways to communicate among government employees, they should also know how to handle electronic records and produce them accordingly in case of a public records request.
Struggle with Electronic Records
Electronic communications have complicated government transparency as public officials and employees move from traditional communication channels to mobile platforms.
Most states struggle with meeting the compliance requirements of their open records laws, especially regarding electronic records in mobile devices. The difficulty comes with the fact that many agencies still rely on manual systems to search for their records and convert them to a reviewable format. Some clerks even opt to request the communications data from the users themselves, print them out, and send them to the legal team for review.
Such measures aren’t practical, mainly since many government employees use their own phones to send chats and text messages. Government agencies must formulate a plan to archive text messages regardless of the device used to send the message. By having a plan to record mobile SMS and capture mobile calls, among other mobile content, employees can also have the freedom to work wherever and whenever their job requires them to.
Complying with Public Records Archiving of Mobile Messages
Non-compliance with Sunshine archiving laws doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a conspiracy to withhold information since it’s common for agencies to lack the resources to archive messages. However, when not addressed adequately, the gap in public records request the response can lead to litigation, reputational damage, and community distrust.
Capture Mobile Content in Real-Time
It’s essential to have a plan that doesn’t rely on the employees to manually save and archive their text messages since it can lead to various errors. Government workers might forget to retain their text messages, lack the training to do so, erase the messages themselves, or lose their devices.
Regardless of whether the device used was government-property or privately owned, agencies must know how to archive text messages and other electronic conversations to meet the requirements of various open records laws. The message’s content determines whether or not the communication data is a public record and not the format. Even chats, voice calls, and instant messages are public records if they’re about official government business.
Having an archiving solution that can effectively capture different mobile content ensures that a government agency can achieve regulatory compliance. The messages’ metadata are also retained, allowing for an easier eDiscovery effort.
Forcing employees to be responsible for accountability is too high a risk, and it’s better to invest in a solution that effectively captures messages automatically. Without a robust archiving solution, the employees might only screenshot the messages or use other means that sacrifice metadata and context.
Make the Discovery Easy
Government agencies commonly struggle with looking for public records since many still use manual systems to search for them. Being able to capture and index text messages automatically is one part of the solution, but being able to search for them easily is also critical. Investing in a third-party solution to retain messages with eDiscovery capabilities can ease the discovery phase.
It is essential to be able to search for the message requested and to produce results as quickly as possible. Being able to locate the conversation quickly through keywords, contact names, and content types are advantageous for government organizations.
Leverage Automation
Automating both archiving and data searches helps an organization become compliant with Sunshine laws. Using automation to scan the archived text messageshelps speed up the discovery phase as the legal and records teams have an easier time looking for the specific conversations they need.
Seek Comprehensive Compliance
Government agencies have to ensure that their archiving solutions are flexible enough to meet their needs. Keeping compliance in mind allows agencies to meet their needs, especially since they’re receiving an increasing number of records requests with expectations on in-depth data. There are also many different data retention laws in the United States, and the retention requirements have been evolving, and it pays to comply with all of them.
Organizations must assess their current IT policies to ensure that their practices are compliant with the current data retention laws and the industry’s best practices. Agencies must ensure that they can capture every single business-related electronic communications and quickly produce records when requested.
Achieving Public Records Archiving Compliance with TeleMessage
Government agencies must make sure that they are up to speed with ever-changing public records archiving laws. Organizations must know the various archiving rules in the United States to ensure that they can comply. A genuinely democratic nation requires a transparent government to ensure that the citizenry is well-informed.
TeleMessage’s Mobile Archiver solutions allows government agencies to capture and record text messages, MMS, voice calls, and WhatsApp chats while solving eDiscovery issues. An organization’s employees can use TeleMessage to send messages securely as well as archive mobile messages in Android and iOS devices, whether they’re government or BYOD mobile phones.
Our mobile archiving products securely record content from mobile carriers and mobile devices for a variety of ownership models (BYOD, CYOD, and employer-issued). With our multiple archiving solutions, you can always find the right tools or blend for your requirements:
TeleMessage offers cross-carrier and international mobile text & calls archiving for corporate and BYOD phones. Visit our website today at www.telemessage.com to try our mobile archiving products.
