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Public Records Laws and Social Media Retention in
Hawaii

Hawaii Uniform Information Practices Act and Social Media

The Hawaii Uniform Information Practices Act (UIPA) governs the maintenance of and public access to government records in Hawaii. The Act aims to promote conducting government business “as openly as possible.” The Act covers records in “electronic or other physical form”; therefore, social media records in Hawaii should be considered a public government record.

Guidance from the Hawaii Office of Information Practices

The Hawaii Office of Information Practices has provided guidance on UIPA, highlighting that the law intends to “conduct government as openly as possible.” The guidance also emphasizes the mandate that “all government records be open to public inspection unless access is specifically restricted.” Social media records in Hawaii fall under the Act’s broad definition of a ‘public record’ and are subject to records retention requirements.

Hawaii Social Media Records Management in Practice

The Hawaii State Senate implemented a robust Social Media Use Policy to “foster the most appropriate and effective” use of social media networks. The policy identifies that the use of social media must comply with applicable laws and explicitly identifies records retention policies as applicable. This requirement serves as a model for handling social media records in Hawaii to mitigate the risk of UIPA litigation.

SOCIAL MEDIA ARCHIVING SOLUTION OVERVIEW

How Social Media Archiving Works

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