Public Records Laws and Social Media Retention in
Tennessee
Tennessee Open Records Act and Social Media
The Tennessee Open Records Act defines public records as “all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, microfilms, electronic data processing files and output, films, sound recordings or other material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any governmental agency.”
View Tennessee law text
Excerpt from Tennessee Open Records Act
(a)(1) As used in this part and title 8, chapter 4, part 6, “public record or records” or “state record or records” all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, microfilms, electronic data processing files and output, films, sound recordings, or other material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any governmental entity…”
Tennessee Social Media Records Guidance from the Attorney General
The Tennessee State Attorney General’s Office released an opinion on applying the Tennessee Public Records Act to Municipal Social Media Accounts. This opinion states that if government social media accounts are established by law or as a function of official business, “that account and any comments posted on the account constitute public records subject to inspection under the Tennessee Public Records Act.”
View the Tennessee Attorney General's Guidance
Excerpt from the Tennessee Attorney General’s Opinion
Application of Tennessee Public Records Act to Municipal Social Media Accounts
Question 1
Are the social media accounts created and maintained by a municipality a matter of public record?
Opinion 1
To the extent a municipal social media account is made “pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business,” that account and any comments posted on the account constitute public records subject to inspection under the Tennessee Public Records Act
Tennessee Social Media Records Guidance from the Secretary of State
The Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office acknowledges the applicability of the Tennessee Open Records Act to social media records in Tennessee in their own official social media policy. This policy states, “All posts may be considered to be a public record that is subject to disclosure under Tenn. Code Ann. §10-7-503.”
View the Tennessee Secretary of State's Guidance
Excerpt from the Tennessee Secretary of State Web and Social Media Policies
The Department of State will not post comments that contain abusive, vulgar, offensive, threatening or harassing language, personal attacks of any kind, or offensive terms that target specific individuals or groups.
Gratuitous links to sites are viewed as spam and may result in the comment being removed. The content of all comments are released into the public domain. Do not submit anything you do not wish to broadcast to the general public. All posts may be considered to be a public record that is subject to disclosure under Tenn. Code Ann. §10-7-503.
Tennessee Social Media Records Management in Practice
The Town of Smyrna offers a great example of a comprehensive social media policy that explicitly identifies social media records in Tennessee as public record. The policy is closely modeled after the guidelines issued by the Tennessee Secretary of State and states, “[t]own social media sites are subject to the Tennessee Open Records Act.”
Smyrna's Social Media Policy
Excerpt from: Town of Smyrna Social Media Policy
2.7. The content on the Town’s social media sites is subject to Tennessee’s Public Records Act (T.C.A. § 10-7-101, et seq.) and Open Meetings Act (T.C.A. § 8-44-101, et seq.) and no social media site shall be used to circumvent or otherwise violate these laws. Any information posted on the Town’s social media sites may be a public record subject to public inspection. All lawful records requests for information contained on a social media site shall be fulfilled by the Executive/Administrative Assistant of the Town Manager and any employee whose assistance is necessary to fulfill the request. All of the Town’s social media sites shall contain a clear and conspicuous statement referencing the aforementioned state laws. All official postings on a social media site shall be preserved in accordance with the Town’s records retention schedule.