Sec. 504. Preserving records of electronic communications conducted related to official duties of positions in the public trust of the American people
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It is the sense of Congress that, as a matter of rule of law and transparency in a democratic government, all officers and employees of the Department and the United States Agency for International Development must preserve all records of communications conducted in their official capacities or related to their official duties with entities outside of the United States Government. It is further the sense of Congress that such practice should include foreign government officials or other foreign entities which may seek to influence United States Government policies and actions.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in the Foreign Affairs Manual guidance implementing chapter 31 of title 44, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Federal Records Act ), to treat electronic messaging systems, software, and applications as equivalent to electronic mail for the purpose of identifying Federal records, and shall also publish in the Foreign Affairs Manual the statutory penalties for failure to comply with such guidance.
No funds are authorized to be appropriated or made available to the Department of State under any Act to support the use or establishment of accounts on third-party messaging applications or other non-Government online communication tools if the Secretary does not certify to the relevant congressional committees that the Secretary has carried out this section.