Federal agencies are on Threads here’s what the records agency says about that govexec com management 2023 07 federal-agencies-are-threads-heres-what-records-agency-says 388302 A spokesperson said on Thursday he had no announcements regarding if the White House plans to use the new social media app Jaap Arriens NurPhoto via Getty Images Courtney Bublé Updated at 5 15 p m on July 7 With the launch on Wednesday night of Twitter rival Threads a new app from Meta which owns Facebook Instagram and WhatsApp the federal records agency says its previous social media guidance still applies and underscored the need for correct presentation of records   Threads allows users to sign in using their Instagram accounts porting over their username and verification The platform had 70 million sign-ups as of Friday morning  according to Mark Zuckerberg CEO of Meta Federal agencies have been among those signing up such as the Agriculture Veterans Affairs and Defense departments and the Transportation Security Administration “Government use of social media platforms including Twitter Meta and applications provided by these platforms has exploded over the past decade ” Laurence Brewer chief records officer at the National Archives and Records Administration told Government 1 4 Executive on Friday “However  our 2013 guidance on managing social media records remains in effect In particular as we said then agencies should assess their business needs and evaluate risks associated with leaving these records in social media ” Additionally “capture and preservation is important for temporary records with long-term retention and for permanent records of historical value that will be transferred to the National Archives ” Brewer said “Following this guidance will ensure that records remain appropriately preserved regardless of any action the native social media platform takes ”  Government Executive reached out to various agencies that have signed up for Threads to ask about their archiving methods “TSA adheres to all federal retention requirements ” said R Carter Langston TSA press secretary “We archive across all social media platforms and we are saving screenshots until Meta provides the capability to archive with Threads ” A USDA spokesperson said “In accordance with federal archival and records management requirements social media content that is identified as a federal record is captured and exported from the social media platform to our local records using the social media platform's data archive feature ” The VA which has posted several times on the platform said in a statement   VA’s use of Threads is currently on hold while we assess this new platform The other federal agencies did not respond for comment by the time of this article’s publication When asked if the White House plans to use Threads White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said during a press gaggle on Thursday that he didn’t have any announcements on the matter   Lauren Harper director of public policy at The National Security Archive at The George Washington University said “as with any agency record preservation needs to be built-in on the front rather than reverse-engineered at a later date ”  Her concern isn’t that the guidance is inadequate but rather that agencies may not be following it correctly “NARA could use more resources to ensure that agencies are actually following the guidance ” Harper said “To that end Congress should recognize this and provide NARA the appropriate resource ” 2 4 Making some of the FLRA’s document delivery also would reduce the “significant costs” associated with printing preparing and mailing paper copies of filings the agency said Rawf8 Getty Images The Federal Labor Relations Authority on Monday will implement new regulations that will give unions and agencies the option to receive case documents electronically potentially making it easier to meet filing deadlines and saving money Although the FLRA which adjudicates disputes between federal employee unions and agency management allows parties to file documents electronically it does not have the same flexibility for the documents that it sends out including decisions orders and notices Instead the agency is required to send those documents to parties via first-class mail In an interim final rule scheduled to be published in the Federal Register Monday union and agency officials with proceedings before the FLRA can request that the agency send documents via email rather than by mail Although the FLRA is seeking public comments on the measure until August 9 the rule takes immediate effect on Monday The FLRA said it is taking this step after “numerous” requests to be able to receive authority documents electronically in recent years particularly since the rapid expansion of telework and remote work that coincided with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic And parties have reported difficulties meeting filing deadlines due to mail delivery delays “Under the FLRA’s regulations when authority documents are served by first-class mail the responding party receives five additional days for filing any responsive filings ” the rule states “However the authority has found that there have been many instances where mail has taken longer than five days to reach the intended recipient thereby shortening the recipient’s response time Allowing parties to opt for e-mail service of authority documents would avoid that problem and thereby improve customer service ” 3 4 Making some of the FLRA’s document delivery also would reduce the “significant costs” associated with printing preparing and mailing paper copies of filings the agency said So far the rule only applies to documents issued by the FLRA’s Office of Case Intake and Publication and only to cases that are pending before the FLRA’s three-member board Documents issued in cases still moving through the FLRA’s adjudication process such as documents issued by its Office of Administrative Law Judges or the Office of the General Counsel will continue to be delivered exclusively by mail 4 4