1. Open Government, Social Media, and Information Policy: Constraints and Barriers John Carlo Bertot Professor and Director Center for Library & Information Innovation College of Information Studies University of Maryland

2. Introduction Information Policy Set of policies, guidelines, laws, regulations that govern information access, dissemination, and management Privacy Security Procurement Preservation Availability Oversight Intellectual property Information quality Equity of access Range of instruments Laws Memos Executive Orders Administrative Code

3. Introduction Range of agencies/branches of government Executive Congress Judiciary OMB GSA NIST GPO NARA Often contradictory, conflicting, and barriers Particularly in the case of new and emerging technologies Privacy/cookies Participation

4. Key Issues Technologies, particularly social media technologies, are evolving and developing at a fast pace And their implementations are unpredictable Information policy is slow to develop and evolve Information policies are technology independent and non-discriminatory

5. Some Examples Equity of Access (Circular A-130, Section 8) Agencies are required to Provide members of the public who do not have Internet connectivity with timely and equitable access to information, for example, by providing hard copies of reports and forms Ensure access to content Using social media technologies as an exclusive channel for information distribution would prevent users without Internet and computing access Economically disadvantaged, persons with disabilities, rural communities that may lack access to broadband technologies

6. Some Examples Equity of Access Section 508, Rehabilitation Act Requires that electronic and information technologies purchased, maintained, or used by the Federal Government meet certain accessibility standards Agencies employing non-Federal services are also required to ensure that persons with disabilities have equivalent access to the information on these third party sites as required in Section 508

7. Some Examples Limited English Proficiency (Executive Order 13166) Requires that agencies provide appropriate access to persons with limited English proficiency: Encompasses all “federally conducted programs and activities,” Anything an Agency does, including using social media technologies to communicate and collaborate with citizens, falls under the reach of the mandate Agencies must determine how much information they need to provide in other languages based on an assessment of customer needs Social media technologies are not different than any other technology used by the Federal government

8. Some Examples Archiving and Records Management (A- 130, NARA Web Technologies Guidance) Regardless of media, the regulations that govern proper management and archival of records still apply Agencies need to determine the most appropriate methods to capture and retain records on both government servers and technologies hosted on non-Federal hosts

9. Some Examples Persistent cookies (OMB Memo M-03-22) Federal websites prohibited from using persistent cookies and other web tracking methods Unless their use has been approved by an Agency head or designated Agency sub-head, for a compelling need When approved in this fashion, Agencies must post clear notice of the Nature of the information collected in the cookies, Purpose and use of the information Whether or not and to whom the information will be disclosed Privacy safeguards applied to the information collected

10. Fixes Primarily operational OMB Memorandum on Social Media, Web- Based Interactive Technologies, and the Paperwork Reduction Act Indicates that PRA requirements do not apply to “unstructured solicitations” Such as those published in the Federal Register or through social media Web sites, blogs, media sharing sites, or online message boards that are hosted on a.gov domain or by a third party

11. Fixes Primarily operational Procurement and contracting – GSA Permits the use of third party social media sites such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter Cookies Working groups looking at this

12. Concluding Comments Need to develop more awareness and strategies There is a need to comprehensively review and harmonize federal information policies Technical fixes, yes, but… Look across all areas to create a comprehensive review and set of recommended changes Technology independent guidelines Need to (re)develop information policy expertise and champions