OMB relaxes PRA rules for Social Media.

• Position: GOVERNMENT RECORDS - Brief article

In April 2010, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo exempting web-based interactive technologies from the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), clearing the way for federal agencies to communicate with the public via social media networks without worrying about excessive paperwork burdens.

Under the PRA, agencies are required to obtain approval from the OMB, which is supposed to authorize all forms that solicit feedback from the public. But this sometimes takes months. Current policies are unclear on whether the PRA covers web-based tools, used to communicate with the public. So, many agencies have avoided using social media tools, such as Twitter, Facebook, and blogs, according to OMB Watch.

But this will likely change after the new social media policy that...