The Los Angeles city attorney’s office is conducting an internal review of city employees’ use of Google Chat messages that are automatically deleted after 24 hours.
The investigation was the result of an agreement between the city and a community group, the Crane Boulevard Safety Coalition, which found out about the disappearing messages in the course of litigation involving the construction of a home in Mount Washington.
Critics say the auto-deleting of messages allows officials to skirt the California Public Records Act and the city’s own document retention policies.
City officials acknowledged last week, in response to inquiries from The Times, that employees have long had the option of communicating with people, both internally and externally, through messages that are permanently auto-deleted after 24 hours. The officials would not explain how the practice complies with the state public records law and city policies that require most records be preserved for a minimum of two years.