Why You Should Archive Your Social Media Content
To comply with public records laws, government agencies, and public entities must retain all records of social media communications and interactions and be able to present them for public records requests.
Five Reasons Public Sector Entities Must Archive Their Social Media Content
Social Media is a Public Record in all 50 U.S. States
School systems, government bodies, and law enforcement agencies are obligated to comply with open record laws.
You are Legally Required to Produce Social Media Content in Response to a Relevant Public Records Request
Having a system in place that captures all content and metadata is the only way to ensure compliance with social media regulations and compliance laws.
Social Media Networks are Not Required to Archive Your Content
Social media networks are not bound to public records laws and have no legal obligation or infrastructure to retain your records.
Social Media Comments Must be Archived
Your archiving strategy must include your posts and comments, as all social content must be included in any public records request responses.
Social Media Screenshots are Not Sufficient
Manual processes are inefficient for capturing and searching records and often don’t suffice in court. Challenges with the frequency of capture, hidden/deleted/revised content, and lack of metadata to prove the authenticity of records all leave agencies with significant risks.
Social Media Public Records Laws by State
Select Your State from Our Interactive Map to Review Its Public Records And Social Media Record Retention Laws
Public record laws state that public entities are responsible for responding to FOIA or Open Records requests for social media and website content.
While each of the 50 United States has specific laws on public records, social media is considered a public record in every state. Accurate record keeping for compliance includes preserving posts, meta-data, comments (even if edited or deleted), and original content exactly as it happened across all of your social media platforms and website pages.
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
The Importance of Social Media Archiving for the Public Sector
Public entities must be prepared to respond to requests for public records on all their public and ancillary pages on Facebook, X, and other social networks.
Archiving ensures compliance with public records laws, FOIA/open records requests, eDiscovery and litigation readiness, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and social media retention requirements.
Explore the CivicPlus Social Media Archiving Solution
Learn how to use our CivicPlus Social Media Archiving Solution to automatically archive every post, photo, and comment from your social pages for record retention.
Solution Brochure
As a public entity, we are required by law to be able to reproduce that information if there is a public request for it, an open records request. That is not something we are capable of doing without having some type of system in place that actually can go out and get what they call the metadata.