John R. Ashcroft, Missouri Secretary of State
Dear Editor:
Regarding your Oct. 24 opinion piece, "No place in government for self-deleting apps," I am in complete agreement. In fact, I believed this issue was so vital to maintaining the public's trust that over a year and a half ago I directed my staff in the Missouri Secretary of State's Office to make this change in our policy, forbidding any programs or applications that prohibit the capture of public business-related communications.
Furthermore, as chair of the State Records Commission, I sought to apply this requirement statewide one year ago, but it failed. The commission did finally approve the requirement in May this year. I am pleased the state auditor has finally updated her policies to reflect my recommendation, and has joined me in encouraging our legislature to put this policy into state law.