An Artifact to Study

One artifact I would genuinely love to see examined more closely would be the old blackberrys and modern cell phones of active politicians and high ranking bureaucrats. In particular, a report by the information commissioner from 2013 indicated that instant messaging had become a serious problem for access to information requests. Texts messages coming through these devices were and are being used in ways that contributed meaningfully to the creation of government policy, but there was no method to keep track of these messages, much less creating records. At present, there appears to be plans to address this issue, but no complete solutions at this time.

Although it was unclear if this means of communication was being used primarily to hide information, or for completely innocent reasons, the problem remains serious in either case. With full access to these artifacts over a long enough period of time, so as to actually see the communications being shared, some particularly pressing questions might be able to be better answered:

-Exactly what information is being passed through these devices, and to what extent does it actually contribute to the formation of policy?

-How do those employees who wish to hide their communications shift more of their work towards this type of device?

-What about this particular method of communication, on a purely technical level, makes it so difficult to force copies to be sent concurrently to a government repository, and what privacy concerns would have to be addressed?

-What makes text messaging specifically so useful that email on a smart phone can't sufficiently replace it?

This particular problem is one that may only become more problematic as time goes on, but as phones become more and more like computers, it might actually sort itself out in relatively short order, at least with the exception of those using it to actively hide records. Email is no more difficult to use than instant messaging, with a modern smart phone. In any case, learning how bureaucrats share and use information through these devices, particularly as that relates to ATIP legislation, would be worth the effort.

Sources:

Special report: Instant messaging putting access to information at risk. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/pin-to-pin-nip-a-nip.aspx