Is your Freedom of Speech At Risk??? Well, Feds Say Bring On The Comments

At the order of the Obama administration, the Federal government has adopted a policy that will make it much easier for Federal agencies to use social media, according to OMBWatch, a site which follows the doings of the Office of Management and Budget. This is another, major step forward for officialdom in the social media arena -- and more proof that even the biggest, most risk-averse organizations can find value in social media strategies.

Basically, the OMB has issued a memo which waives cumbersome paperwork requirements for government communications that solicit or enable responses or feedback from private citizens. This paperwork was, ironically enough, required under the terms of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980.

Like all good Congressional legislation, the PRA seemed to accomplish the opposite of its name -- at least in this case -- by demanding copious documentation for any government publication that seeks input from regular folks (that's us). Specifically, the PRA requires Federal agencies to take out a control number from the OMB for every form requesting public feedback, which is enough of a disincentive to deter may Federal agencies from undertaking any truly interactive projects to, say, solicit suggestions about improving their Web pages.

Happily, the OMB has waived these requirements in accord with the Open Government Directive issued by the White House on December 8, 2009, according to OMBWatch. The waiver specifically exempts Web-based interactive technologies that enable "unstructured" feedback from the public -- a category that includes visitor comments on Web pages, as well as online initiatives from Federal agencies using sites like Facebook, Twitter, and so on. Anything soliciting "structured" feedback -- online forms, questionnaires, etc. -- is still subject to the terms of the PRA.

Thus the Feds have made a fairly important distinction between two types of communication, which didn't even really exist in 1980 when the PRA was passed. Back then, you had your questionnaires and forms, which were mailed to individuals, who for their part could write a letter and mail it to a Federal agency if they were motivated (read, enraged) enough. The "unstructured" feedback which might appear on agency Web pages clearly resembles the latter more than the former, and so should be exempt from any bureaucratic oversight which applies to communications originating with the government.