Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has been making use of a messaging app that allows him to communicate with staff without having to make those communications available to the public, according to the Washington Post.

Hogan’s communications director Michael Ricci confirmed to WTOP in an email that Hogan does make use of the “Amazon-based platform”, Wickr, which is described on the Amazon Web Services site as giving “security conscious enterprises and government agencies the ability to implement important governance and security controls to help them meet their compliance requirements.”

The Post story raises questions about whether the use of the app, with settings that allow messages to “self-destruct” within 24 hours, conflicts with Maryland public records requirements.

According to the Maryland State Archives, “the law defines public records very broadly” and “Maryland state law makes all public officials responsible for making sure that records no longer needed are either offered to the Archives or are destroyed according to procedures that are spelled out in Maryland’s regulations (COMAR).”

The information on the Maryland Archives’ website adds, “Records must be maintained correctly to facilitate the transparency that the public expects of public office-holders.”

The site makes distinctions between matters of public record and personal notes that are not government related, “e.g. an email inviting you to lunch.”

While the guidance on public records from the archives...

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