Read this insightful guide on the silent data crisis.
In an era where instant messaging has become the world's primary communication method, government officials find themselves increasingly caught out by its use.
The ability to communicate quickly, on the go, and with ease has made messaging services like Signal and WhatsApp indispensable for many.
Yet the problem for government administrators occurs when they use these unofficial channels for official communications.
"Government officials are like any other human being. They wake up, check their mobile, and look at their messages to see what's in store for them for that day," Avi Pardo, Co-founder and Chief Business Officer at LeapXpert explained.
However, government messaging is required by law in many jurisdictions worldwide to leave a record so that it can be scrutinized later.
Yet these popular messaging apps are far more ephemeral in nature than secure, government-designed communication platforms. In fact, both Signal and WhatsApp have a timer feature that removes messages after a certain time.
A simple answer to avoid this potential rule break would be to stop government workers from using these unofficial methods of communication.
That may, however, be an endeavor in trying to halt the tide.
Equally, its prohibition could genuinely stifle nimble communications between these different government workers who need to make fast decisions.
Luckily, LeapXpert has created a solution that can keep governments using these instant messaging apps while restoring the governance that its use loses.
Transparency, Accountability and Legal Exposure
Like emails or formal documents that are systematically archived, any government work and communication carried out on messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Signal, and iMessage need the same level of documentation.
"Messaging is just another way to communicate, and it falls into the same obligations that any government has," Pardo explained.
Yet why this has so often caught governments out is because this form of communication is not connected to the overarching system government comms goes through.
Thus, should an audit be required of a certain government department, they would not be able to pull through the data as that communication channel is not linked.
"In some countries, governments are obliged to provide internal information on a serious incident in as little as 48 hours. They need to be able not just to record it, but also to show it."
In Australia, however, a government audit revealed concerning patterns of messaging app usage across agencies, with unclear policies governing these communications.
Similarly, in the UK, government ministers called to give testimony regarding breaking the lockdown legislation during Covid were unable to provide evidence from their WhatsApp messages for precisely this reason, with even the soon-to-be Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saying this was due to having changed phones multiple times since then.
Bridging the Governance Gap with Communication Technology
As governments worldwide begin to recognize the magnitude of this issue, technical solutions are emerging to bridge the governance gap without forcing officials to abandon the communication tools they prefer.
