Paper
Policy Brief
Update Massachusetts Open Meeting Law for the Digital Age
As technology reshapes how public officials communicate with their communities, this policy brief offers recommendations for modernizing Massachusetts Open Meeting Law to protect transparency and accountability while enabling the tools that expand access to government.
Issues
Open Meeting Law was designed to ensure that public deliberation remains visible and accountable to the people it serves. As public bodies and their members increasingly rely on technologies such as social media, remote meeting tools, and artificial intelligence, questions from local leaders about compliance with Open Meeting Law have arisen. This policy brief examines the areas where emerging technologies intersect with Open Meeting Law obligations and offers recommendations for modernizing regulation, guidance, and practice. As technology reshapes how public officials communicate and engage with their communities, the Open Meeting Law must evolve to address these emerging technologies while preserving transparency and accountability, or risk discouraging the use of innovative tools that can strengthen public engagement and access to government.
To read the full policy brief, scroll up and click “Download the PDF” to the right of your screen. This work builds on findings from The Landscape of Digital Civic Infrastructure in Massachusetts.
The Landscape of Digital Civic Infrastructure in Massachusetts
Kenneth Woodland is a mid-career Master in Public Administration student and researcher at the Harvard Kennedy School. He focuses his legal practice in municipal law and is a former city councilor.
Rishab Ramamurthy is a law student and researcher at Harvard Law School. He previously worked as an organizer with the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance.
Sarah Hubbard is the Associate Director for Technology & Democracy at the Ash Center’s Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation. Her current work focuses on the governance of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence.
The views expressed in this article are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the positions of the Ash Center or its affiliates.
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Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation authors offer the first comprehensive analysis of how Massachusetts municipalities are using technology to support civic engagement, government decision-making, and public service delivery.
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