Transparency in government is continuing to expand, as witnessed by the fact that the city of Oakland, Calif., has committed to opening its social media archives to citizens within the next few months.
According to a press release, officials have partnered with the Code for America startup ArchiveSocial to unlock thousands of social media records for public review. The transparency initiative places the city at the forefront in social media accountability, and makes Oakland the first city in California to offer such access.
Other jurisdictions to use the platform include the Florida counties of Palm Beach, Nassau and St. Lucie, and ArchiveSocial also has launched in the state of North Carolina and various jurisdictions in South Carolina.
Oakland will report a full listing of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube communications from city departments and programs. The project also includes assisting the city in managing its own social media records and complying with the Freedom of Information Act that, with a few exemptions, mandates all government records be made available to the public, digital or otherwise. Former city CIO Bryan Sastokas, who was a driving force behind
Oakland's commitment to archiving social media records, said the undertaking is built on a continued push by the city to ensure transparency was systematized.
“Providing transparency and access to data are critical needs of our community,” Sastokas said. “I believe that for cities to experience the transformational benefits of open data, they need to leverage technology to get data into the hands of the people.”
