Skip to main content

Public Records Laws and Social Media Retention in
Wisconsin

Wisconsin Public Records Law and Social Media

Social media records in Wisconsin are governed by Wisconsin Statutes 19.31-19.39, which state, “Any material on which written, drawn, printed, spoken, visual or electromagnetic information is recorded or preserved, regardless of physical form or characteristics, which has been created or is being kept by an authority.”

Guidelines from the Attorney General on Social Media as Public Records

In 2019, the Attorney General released a Wisconsin Public Records Law Compliance Guide, which directly addresses social media as public records. The guide clearly states that content posted on social media by or on behalf of a government authority must be produced if it is responsive to a public records request. In short, government social media is a public record in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Social Media Records Management in Practice

The City of Janesville offers a great example of a comprehensive social media policy that clearly outlines the impact of the Wisconsin Open Records Law on social media records.