Brewer asks whether Rowland got approval for Signal's auto-delete feature

I have a question, and then I'll call on Council Member Wong for further second round.

So under the DARS rules, if we're trying to stay in the DARS rules, a city employee, as I understand it, needs to get approval to use the auto-delete feature on messaging apps.

Now, you could say, we don't know.

If the signal communication was deleted.

We don't have that information.

We don't know.

But it is an auto-delete feature, signal is.

So my question is, if that is the rule, number one, and second, did Amelia Rowland or anybody else who was doing communication with signal

get permission from Doris to use this auto-delete feature on the Signal app, or did they just get permission to use Signal in general?

Because it seems to me that a city employee may not delete records without prior approval under Doris rules, which is slightly different than what you're stating.

Can you clarify this?

Thank you for that question, Chair.

The request for approval that you're referencing, I believe, came through a communication within a specific agency and is not actually within the

Doris policy creation.

At the very minimum, city agencies need to, they're required to comply with the DORIS policy, but then, of course,

Core city agencies may impose stricter policies within themselves.

So with respect to instant messaging platform, if that was a position within the agency, then I can't really speak to what they've chosen to determine there

because we don't have that within the instant messaging policy as it stands, a need for approval.

So there is no need for approval, is what you're saying.

Thank you for that.

The need for approval may exist within an agency.

But not from Doris.

But not from Doris, correct.

Okay, but we don't know if agencies have an approval process.

We don't know that.

It would be up to the agency to have one or not have one.

Absolutely true.

If there is an approval process, I wouldn't know what their strategies are and how they communicate that.

There's a lot of new legislation to be needed in all of this, I think is what you're saying.

Without saying it, because you can't say it, but I can say it.