Michigan quickly deletes government chats, raising transparency questions
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WanttoknowwhattopMichiganeconomicdevelopmentofficialswerechattingaboutonlineastheirofficewasraidedbyAttorneyGeneralDanaNesselinJuneamidanearmarkembezzlementinvestigation?
OrwhatstateofficialsandemployeesweretellingeachotherasPresidentDonaldTrumpreturnedtoofficeinJanuary?
Manyofthosecommunicationsmaybepermanentlyshieldedfrompublicviewunderastategovernmentpolicytoautomaticallydeletecommunicationsthrough
MicrosoftTeams,acommunicationandcollaborationplatformwidelyusedinLansing.
Stategovernmentagenciesdeletethosechatsafter30days,meaningtheygenerallyarenolongeravailabletothepublicthroughtheMichiganFreedomofInformationAct.Emails,bycomparison,areretainedforsevenyearsandremainavailablethroughpublicrecordsrequests.
AspokespersonfortheMichiganDepartmentofTechnology,ManagementandBudget,whichoverseesmostofthestate’stechnologysystems,saidthequickdeletionswereforstoragereasons,nothidinginformationfromthepublic.
BridgeMichigand
