GSA signs agreements with Web 2.0 providers -- Federal Computer Week

GSA signs agreements with Web 2.0 providers -- Federal Computer Week: "GSA signs agreements with Web 2.0 providers

* By Doug Beizer
* Mar 25, 2009

The General Services Administration has signed agreements with Flickr, YouTube, Vimeo and blip.tv that make it possible for federal agencies to use new-media tools while meeting their legal requirements, GSA officials announced today.

Under the agreement, agencies can immediately begin using new-media tools that let people post, share, and comment on videos and photos on the Web. Individual agencies must decide which tools their employees may use and how they may use them.

GSA and a coalition of agencies have been working with the new-media providers for some time to develop terms of service for federal agencies. The new agreements resolve legal concerns associated with many standard terms and conditions that pose problems for agencies, such as liability limits, endorsements and freedom of information, GSA officials said.

'We need to get official information out to sites where people are already visiting and encourage them to interact with their government,' said GSA Acting Administrator Paul Prouty. “The new agreements make it easier for the government to provide official information to citizens via their method of choice.”

The agreements create a road map for agencies that want to use third-party media providers, said Mark McCreary, a partner at law firm Fox Rothschild and an expert on Internet law. Agencies will likely not need any waivers from the standard provisions approved by GSA, he said."