Data Retention and Access Regimes for Wireless Message Logs in the United States: Exploratory Analysis

Abstract

The application of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) solutions for government agencies in the United States raises special concerns about how information collected by new ITS-related systems will be used and maintained. In the United States, Freedom of Information Act laws require almost all government agencies to provide the general public with access to government records, including electronic records. Government agencies are also required by state and federal courts to provide access to their records. Consequently, as government agencies apply ITS solutions, they must examine issues related to data retention and access. The development of data access and retention was examined in the case of the Capital Wireless Integrated Network (CapWIN) project, a partnership of numerous government agencies and universities of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region that is developing the first interjurisdictional, interagency integrated and scalable wireless transportation fleet and public safety communications network in the United States. Data retention and access issues for the CapWIN system are explored in a context designed to provide guidance for the future development of ITS services.