Seattle Schools Community Forum: Should Public Officials Be Able to Use "Ghost Messaging?"

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Should Public Officials Be Able to Use "Ghost Messaging?":

Should Public Officials Be Able to Use "Ghost Messaging?"

From Education Week's Digital Education blog and the Sacramento Bee.  I'm going to print some excerpts from the article below but the entire article follows those excerpts. 

But Cuban, the Cyber Dust founder, sees a different problem.

"Should [school officials] be able to discuss business at lunch? What about over the phone?" he said. "There is a place for public disclosure and transparency. But there is a place for privacy as well."

James Mayer, the CEO of good-government group California Forward, agreed. The group has not taken a formal stance on the use of ephemeral-messaging apps, but Mayer said it would be a mistake to automatically attribute nefarious motives to public officials who seek to use such a tool.

"If you really want good public services, with fewer mistakes, you have to allow managers to think out loud and consult with their peers and talk through issues with their teams," he said. "Not all communication is public record."

First, I'm not asking Mark Cuban (of Shark Tank fame) for advice on privacy and public records.

But to address the question, it depends.  In a meeting, even one between just two officials, someone could take notes. Those notes are accessible to the public.  Verbal conversation? Unless it is recorded, nothing short of getting someone on the stand would make that accessible.  (I'm no lawyer but I think that's right.)

Readers?  Your thoughts, please.Seattle Schools Community Forum: Should Public Officials Be Able to Use "Ghost Messaging?":