New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has relied on the encrypted messaging platform Signal to correspond with fellow elected officials and political advisers, including conversations involving government matters, a practice that may conflict with public records and freedom of information requirements, according to a report by Politico.
Signal previously drew national attention after reports last year that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth used the application on his personal phone to discuss U.S. military operations in Yemen.
Politico reported Monday that it independently verified that Mamdani maintains an active Signal account tied to his personal cellphone number.
Three individuals familiar with the situation told the outlet that Mamdani used the app to exchange messages with other officeholders and political advisers and that some of those communications involved official government business. The sources were granted anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Under New York’s Freedom of Information Law, members of the public are entitled to request access to the mayor’s official communications. However, Signal’s end-to-end encryption and its feature allowing messages to disappear after a designated period could complicate efforts to obtain those records if they are stored within the app or deleted.
Mamdani campaigned on a pledge to bring greater transparency and accountability to city government. Critics argue that using encrypted messaging applications for official communications appears at odds with that promise.
Norman Siegel, a First Amendment attorney and former head of the New York Civil Liberties Union, told Politico that city mayors should avoid using Signal for discussions with other government officials.
“I would urge him to not engage in Signal or similar kinds of applications that basically are meant to hide information and prevent the public from knowing the inner workings of government,” Siegel said.
Politico also reported that after his election victory in November, Mamdani exited several Signal group chats, according to a person familiar with the matter who was granted anonymity. That step suggested an awareness of the potential legal and transparency issues associated with the app’s use by public officials.
Questions surrounding digital communications are not new for New York City mayors.
Shortly after taking office, Eric Adams faced inquiries about his own use of Signal. At the time, he told City & State that the app was used strictly for “private” matters and that “government business is conducted on my government phone.”
Less than three years later, federal prosecutors in Manhattan filed a corruption indictment that included claims Adams used encrypted messaging platforms to communicate with aides regarding alleged campaign finance misconduct.
Before Adams, former Mayor Bill de Blasio and members of his staff also faced scrutiny in 2019 when it became public that they had used Signal to coordinate government scheduling.
Advocates for government transparency say Mamdani should halt the practice. John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany, a watchdog organization focused on accountability in government, told Politico, “He’s got to stop doing that.”
Grace Rauh, executive director of Citizens Union, a nonprofit organization dedicated to government reform in New York, likewise cautioned that conversations with other officials can easily cross into official territory.
“City leaders must be deliberate about how they communicate,” Rauh told Politico. “Any discussion of official government business must occur in a manner that ensures records are preserved and accessible under the Freedom of Information Law. The rules exist to protect the public.”
{Matzav.com}