Disappearing Messages in City Hall | Bakersfield News

Mayor Karen Bass’s office is under fire for using disappearing WhatsApp messages—raising alarms about transparency as an unpaid consultant, Yusef Robb, who later worked for a company hit by a fire, remained active in mayoral communications through these auto-deleting chats. While the mayor herself has used ephemeral messages—including during wildfire emergencies—the city’s stance that such texts aren’t public records has clashed with legal requirements to retain records for two years. Though officials previously claimed keeping all messages was “absurdly impractical,” new rules now mandate saving Google Chat messages indefinitely. This isn’t just a local issue—federal officials are grappling with the same tension between convenience and accountability, leaving the public wondering: if messages vanish, how can we trust what’s being said? Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/57d748bcc51d415d