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Introduction to Legal Issues on Social Media & the Federal Government

This panel presentation provides an overview of the legal issues surrounding social media usage by the federal government, including privacy concerns, terms of service agreements, ethics, records management, and more. It explores the options of procurement, open use, and conditional use of 2.0 services and offers recommendations for government agencies.

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Introduction to Legal Issues on Social Media & the Federal Government

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  1. Introduction to Legal Issues on Social Media & the Federal Government Peter Swire Ohio State University Center for American Progress DHS Conference June 23, 2009

  2. Overview • Overview of legal issues • Legal and policy issues in procuring 2.0 services

  3. Six Legal Hurdles • Privacy • Persistent cookies • Data that goes to 3rd party sites • Access for people with disabilities • Section 508 • When does it apply to 3rd party sites • Commercial endorsement & advertising

  4. Six Legal Hurdles • Terms of service • State law & indemnity clauses, etc. • Paperwork Reduction Act • Surveys on the web • How to do analytics • Computer security & use of 2.0 by federal employees • Platforms & their aps

  5. This Panel • Procurement – Peter Swire • Terms of Service – Jodi Cramer • Ethics (endorsement) – Bob Coyle • Records Management – Laurence Brewer • Privacy Act – Kirsten Moncada • E-Gov/FOIA/PRA/cookies/FACA – Alex Tang • First Amendment – Aden Fine

  6. Procurement – Overview of Buying “Free” 2.0 Software • 3 phases of federal procurement • 3 options for procurement • Use “procurement” for free 2.0 services • Enable “open use” of 2.0 • Enable “conditional use” of 2.0 • Some recommendations

  7. 3 Phases of Software Procurement • Custom software • NASA rocket software & no private-sector producers • Government contracts for custom software • Commercial off the shelf software • DoD shouldn’t write its own word processing software • COTS & GSA schedules

  8. 3 Phases of Procurement • 2.0 Free Services • Procurement law (FAR) applies to “the acquiring by contract with appropriated funds” • Possibly is a “concession” such as restaurant at national park; but, concessions involve payment of money to the government • Therefore, likely not a “procurement” under the FAR or DFAR when agency signs up for 2.0 free services

  9. Use Procurement Anyways? • Pro: • Well defined & fair procedures • Multiple vendors can alert government to their services • Reduce risk of (perceived) favoritism • Avoid lock-in & get to best service at lowest total cost of ownership

  10. Use Procurement Anyways? (2) • Con: • Full procurement will slow use of Web 2.0, especially for smaller sites/agencies/uses • Not clear have authority to do procurement when outside of required scope of the FAR • Administrative burden of approving contracts • This sort of formal procurement for 2.0 rarely used in the private sector, so why is it worth it for government agencies?

  11. Option 2: “Open Use” of 2.0 • Idea – government can use 2.0 the way private organizations do • Pro: • Encourage rapid adoption of 2.0, consistent with Obama administration statements • Encourage experimentation • Fewer dollars than paying for software • Favoritism concerns are limited by no direct flow of dollars to the vendors

  12. Option 2 – “Open Use” of 2.0 • Con: • Still risk of favoritism and lock-in, especially for high-visibility sites such as whitehouse.gov • Open use does not push for government policies for privacy, security, Section 508, FOIA, and other issues

  13. Option 3: “Conditional Use” of 2.0 • Actually have a sliding scale from formal procurement to open use of 2.0 • Procedural conditions • Get approvals (GC, management) before 2.0 • Use 2.0 to govern 2.0, with comments section about vendors, alternative technologies, etc.

  14. Option 3: Conditional Use • Substantive conditions • Instead of requiring full compliance with privacy, 508, etc., can require “consideration” of such issues, perhaps combined with procedural safeguards • A major strategic question – how hard to insist on complete compliance with every substantive rule, for 3rd party services, during the ramp-up phase we are in

  15. Recommendations • My paper supports conditional use that is fairly close to open use • Policy statement encouraging 2.0 & transparency • Whitehouse.gov as a model • Public comment feature so feedback on vendors & features • Conditional use & “consider” privacy, 508, etc. in choosing 2.0 services • Be open to statutory & regulatory changes to move government & private services toward better achievement of multiple goals over time

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